U.S. official regrets jail term reduction for militant leader
U.S. official regrets jail term reduction for militant leader
Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A top U.S. official expressed dismay on Wednesday over the
imminent release of Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, saying
Washington believed he had "intense and deep involvement" in
terrorist activities.
Speaking after a meeting here with Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge expected to see Ba'asyir be
brought to justice on terrorism charges.
"Hopefully in due time, at least from our country's point of
view and appreciation of the intense and deep involvement of
Ba'asyir in both the execution and planning of terrorist
activities ... at some point in time he will be brought to
justice in a different way," Ridge said.
Ridge arrived here to the backdrop of the Supreme Court
upholding Ba'asyir's conviction on immigration violations but
reducing his sentence to 18 months.
The top court also annulled the lower courts' ruling that
Ba'asyir set up Jamaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist
organization blamed for the Bali blasts in 2002 and the JW
Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta in 2003.
The cleric will walk free on April 4 as a consequence of the
sentence reduction.
Ba'asyir has consistently denied being a terror chief,
although several of his followers have been convicted and
sentenced to death for the Bali attacks.
It was only after a tip from terrorist suspect Umar al-Faruq
that police arrested Ba'asyir after the Bali blasts in 2002.
National Intelligence Agency chief A.M. Hendropriyono then handed
over Faruq to the U.S., a move that sparked protest here.
Ridge did praise the Indonesian government's efforts to fight
terrorism, including the convictions of the perpetrators of the
Bali and Marriott Hotel bombings.
Susilo said Indonesia would continue its intelligence
operations to make sure that "there is no room in Indonesia for
terrorists to consolidate, to reorganize and to plan further
strikes".
Ridge met with Susilo to explain the reasons behind
Washington's decision to deploy agents at U.S. embassies and
consulates in Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan and the United
Arab Emirates as part of a sweeping overhaul of immigration
procedures.
Ridge stressed that "such policy is imposed on everyone coming
to our country and we did not discriminate against nations or
religions".
Later on Wednesday, Ridge met with President Megawati
Soekarnoputri to underline the U.S.'s commitment and solidarity
with the Indonesian government in fighting terrorism.
"I came here to express America's solidarity with the ongoing
efforts to secure our nations and our citizens.
"The U.S. has reaffirmed its commitment to continue to work
closely and cooperatively with Indonesia in this mutual
endeavor," Ridge said.