Moves afoot to label shadowy Asia group terrorist
Moves afoot to label shadowy Asia group terrorist
Reuters, Jakarta
Many Asia-Pacific nations are moving towards calling a
regional group at the center of suspicion over last weekend's
massive bomb attacks in Bali a terrorist organization, a senior
U.S. official said on Friday.
No countries have yet labeled the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah
Islamiah network a terrorist group, although the United States
has said it was considering doing so.
Such a move would put even more heat on Indonesia -- already
under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Bali blasts -- to take
action against militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, alleged
by officials in some countries to be the head of Jemaah Islamiah.
Asked by a small group of reporters if he expected Jakarta to
declare Jemaah Islamiah a terrorist body, the U.S. official said:
"I think the chances are very good that many APEC members,
including many ASEAN members are moving in that direction and it
would be great for Indonesia, for the region, if they were to
join in that."
The U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said that
did not mean he thought countries under the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum might issue a statement to that effect
when its leaders meet in Mexico from Oct. 26-27.
ASEAN is the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations
which includes Indonesia.
No group has claimed responsibility for the Bali carnage, but
suspicion has fallen on al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah, which has
been accused of seeking to bomb Western targets as part of
efforts to set up an independent Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
More than 180 people were killed in the Bali attacks, which
leveled a prime section of its tourist strip near Kuta Beach.
Ba'asyir has been ordered to appear for questioning in Jakarta
on Saturday in relation to a bombing in 2000. He has since been
taken to hospital and may not be able to attend, an aide said
earlier.
Ba'asyir has denied any wrongdoing and says Jemaah Islamiah
does not exist.
The U.S. official said around 200 dependents of U.S. embassy
staff in Indonesia, as well as 90 embassy personnel, would have
left the world's most populous Muslim country by Friday night in
response to the heightened concerns over security.
That would leave about 100 embassy staff in the country.
The U.S. official added that Indonesia was in the
international spotlight and needed to respond decisively.
"I think Indonesia is very much at a crossroads, not just with
the international community, but with itself in terms of
measuring up to how this fringe element is going to represent
itself in Indonesia...," said the official.
"I don't think it's overstating it to say they are at a
crossroads, the next few days are potentially quite historical,"
the official added, without elaborating.