U.S. grants Manila access to information on Hambali

U.S. grants Manila access to information on Hambali

Agencies, Manila/Bangkok

The United States has agreed to grant the Philippines access to
information on captured Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) militant Hambali
but will not allow Filipino investigators to directly question
him, the foreign secretary said on Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a letter to the
Philippine foreign office, also expressed his commitment to
cooperate with Manila in relation to Washington's investigations
into the activities of Hambali, Blas Ople said.

Hambali, an Indonesian whose birth name is Riduan Isamuddin,
was arrested in Thailand last month by Thai police and CIA agents
and is being detained by U.S. authorities at an undisclosed
location.

Manila formally asked Washington last month to allow Filipino
authorities access to the man accused of involvement in deadly
bomb attacks and plots in Manila and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

He was the suspected pointman for Asia of the al-Qaeda group
blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, as
well as the operations chief of the JI, a Southeast Asian terror
network.

Hambali is accused of masterminding last year's nightclub
blasts that killed 202 people on the Indonesian island of Bali
and Jakarta Marriot hotel's bombing last August that killed 12
people.

"The U.S., which is in the process of interrogating Hambali
and cross-checking the information given by Hambali, has also
agreed to provide us with any information that would help us in
our fight against terrorism as well as information that might
help save lives in the Philippines," Ople said in a statement.

Ople had earlier asked the U.S. government to give Philippine
investigators access to Hambali.

Manila also wants Hambali turned over to Philippine
authorities to face charges relating to bomb attacks around
Manila that killed 22 people in December 2000.

Indonesian JI militant Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, also charged
with the bombing, had earlier told Philippine prosecutors that
Hambali provided the funds to buy the explosives used in the
attacks.

Al-Ghozi however escaped from a Philippine jail in July,
triggering a security alert across the region.

"There are many questions that our authorities would like to
ask and the U.S. has agreed to pose these questions to Hambali,"
Ople said.

However, "because Hambali's interrogation is ongoing and
because the need to conduct his interrogation in a carefully
controlled environment, direct access to Hambali at this time is
not possible," Ople said.

In another development, a Thai newspaper has reported that
cosmetic surgeons in Thailand will be asked to keep alert for
possible terrorists seeking to change their appearance.

Thousands of foreigners flock to Thailand for facelifts and
other cosmetic surgery because of the high quality and low prices
offered.

The Medical Council of Thailand said it will ask surgeons to
be on the look out for suspicious characters, noting that the
country keeps no proper records on foreigners entering the
country for plastic surgery, The Nation newspaper reported on
Saturday.

Council president Dr. Somsak Lolaekar said he expected
surgeons to cooperate given that national security was at stake.

Thailand has stepped up security ahead of next month's Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum which will be attended
by 21 regional leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush.