Police deny U.S. intervention in Ba'asyir arrest

Police deny U.S. intervention in Ba'asyir arrest

Abdul Khalik and A. Junaidi, Jakarta

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar rejected allegations
that the arrest of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was made due
to U.S. intervention, through its Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph
L. Boyce.

"It's not a foreign intervention. I have met Boyce, but only
discussed cooperation and assistance," Da'i told a hearing of the
joint Commissions I and II for political, security and legal
affairs on Wednesday.

He claimed the arrest was based on strong evidences of the
alleged involvement of Ba'asyir in terrorist attacks, but refused
to go into detail, arguing that it would affect the probe.

He complained Boyce's frequent statements on Ba'asyir, who has
been accused of leading al-Queda-linked terrorist organization
Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), had also hampered the police
investigation.

Ba'asyir was released from Salemba Penitentiary on April 30
but was immediately rearrested. Before the rearrest, hundreds of
the cleric's supporters clashed with police outside the prison.

Meanwhile, Boyce said the United States was pleased that
Indonesian police had rearrested Ba'asyir, but Washington should
not have to apologize for the controversy over its view of him.

"We welcome the decision by the police to requestion him and
to take the action they did last week," Boyce was quoted by
Reuters as saying on Wednesday.

"We do believe there are some concerns that still need to be
addressed in terms of what his role has been vis-a-vis JI and
some of the tragic events that happened here," he was quoted as
saying.

In the weeks leading up to his arrest, public support grew for
the 65-year-old cleric over accusations the United States, and
Boyce in particular, was trying to interfere in Indonesia's
internal affairs by having Ba'asyir kept behind bars.

Washington has accused Ba'asyir of deep involvement in terror.
Boyce said the debate over Ba'asyir had been colored by the
accusations of U.S. interference. He denied the accusations.

"In an interdependent world, in a global war on terror, where
the U.S. clearly has a lead role in what is going on in that
campaign, I think it's important we do express our views on how
that war on terror is going," Boyce said.

Some analysts say going after Ba'asyir again poses a challenge
to Indonesia, especially with sentiment for Washington so low due
to the war in Iraq and other U.S. policies in the Middle East.

Police have said Ba'asyir would be questioned about attacks
including the Bali blasts, in which 202 people were killed.

Previous charges against Ba'asyir of treason and of heading JI
were dismissed or overturned. Ba'asyir denies links to terrorism.