Oz presses for JI ban, no sentence cut for Ba'asyir
Oz presses for JI ban, no sentence cut for Ba'asyir
Agence France-Presse, Sydney, Australia
Australia pressed the Indonesian government on Wednesday to outlaw the Islamic militant group blamed for the Bali bombings and protested a possible cut in the jail sentence imposed on the group's alleged spiritual leader.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will travel to Indonesia to lobby the government to ban the extremist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) following the latest Bali attacks, Prime Minister John Howard announced.
By taking a stand against the organization, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would send a reassuring signal to moderate Indonesians, Howard said in an interview on commercial radio.
JI was blamed for the first Bali attack in 2002 which killed 202 people including 88 Australians, and its alleged religious leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was jailed for conspiracy over the bombing, but no action was taken to outlaw the shadowy organization.
JI is also suspected of being responsible for Saturday's bombings in Bali, which left at least 19 dead, including as many as four Australians -- sparking fresh calls here for the group to be banned.
The Indonesian government has so far refused to outlaw JI, arguing that there was no such formal organization and Howard suggested that Australia would adopt a cautious attitude.
"What will happen is that Mr. Downer will be going to Indonesia soon," Howard said. "He will indicate when, and he and I are going to work out the most appropriate way to push it.
"But can I just make this point again: we are having a debate, a discussion, about the laws of another country."
Howard said Australia could not force Indonesia to change its laws, adding that in any case he did not believe outlawing JI would drastically change the situation.
"It is not the be all and end all of tackling terrorism in Indonesia and if it remains as it is or if it is banned in practical terms it's not going to make an enormous difference.
"The real issue is the determination of the Indonesian police and security authorities and government to crack down on the terrorist organizations, their activities rather than their structures," he said.
"The other thing of course is the ongoing success of a moderate democratic government in Indonesia."
Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison, meanwhile, said Australia objected to any further reduction of the 30 month jail sentence imposed on Ba'asyir in March for his involvement in a criminal conspiracy that led to the 2002 bombings.
"We've certainly registered our strong protest over any remission for Abu Bakar Ba'asyir," he said. "We totally reject that and we've made our position very clear to Indonesia."
Ba'asyir had his sentence cut by more than four months to commemorate Indonesia's independence day in August and could have another month taken off to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month in early November, prison officials said.
The head of the Indonesian jail where Ba'asyir is being held, Dedi Sutardi, told AFP that the government accords two annual sentence reductions to prisoners for good conduct if they have already served at least six months.
Ellison acknowledged the remissions process in Indonesia, but added: "We certainly have said that this should not apply to Abu Bakar Ba'asyir who, after all, has been in prison for terrorism- related offenses and is the spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah."
From his prison cell, Ba'asyir condemned Saturday's bombings but also said in a statement the attacks were a sign of God's displeasure with the Indonesian government.
"These saddening incidents, in essence, are warnings, scolding from Allah to us all who are not respecting his sharia (Islamic religious laws)," he said.