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.