VP denies govt interference in the arrest of Ba'asyir

VP denies govt interference in the arrest of Ba'asyir

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hard-line Muslim groups lost their guardian angel in the
government as Vice President Hamzah Haz threw in his support for
the arrest by the National Police of terror suspect Abu Bakar
Ba'asyir.

Hamzah stressed on Monday that the current police effort to
arrest Ba'asyir was based on the law and not to fulfill
international community demands for his arrest.

"The police action is based on legal aspects, the government
has never engineered the arrest of Ba'asyir," Hamzah said.

"The government will not interfere with the investigation as
this is the duty of the police and the arrest (of Ba'asyir) is
based on the Criminal Code. However, if the investigation links
him to the Bali bombing, then the police could use the new
antiterrorism regulations," he added.

Hamzah's statement was apparently in contrast to his earlier
comments that he would be the person to protect Muslim hard-
liners should the authorities move to crack down on them.

"Only if they are proven to be terrorists will I myself order
the arrest," he said last month.

However, Hamzah backtracked on his earlier stance and stressed
that should Ba'asyir be guilty the authorities need to take
action against him.

Ba'asyir, detained over the weekend in a crackdown on
terrorist suspects following the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, has
been undergoing treatment since Friday at the Muhammadiyah
Hospital in Surakarta, Central Java.

Ba'asyir was taken to the hospital after he collapsed during a
news conference on Friday.

Ba'asyir's lawyer Mahendratta said that in addition to lethal
bombings, the charges against his client included a plot to
assassinate President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"Pak Ba'asyir is suspected of a conspiracy to murder the
President or Vice President," Mahendratta told The Jakarta Post.

The allegation was listed on a police summons handed to
Ba'asyir, explaining the reasons for his detention, he added.

Police say they arrested him after a detained al-Qaeda
suspect, Omar al-Faruq, told Indonesian investigators that
Ba'asyir was implicated in bomb plots.

Time magazine reported last month that al-Faruq had admitted
to plotting to assassinate Megawati before she became president
and masterminding a series of bomb attacks in the country. He
also admitted to having links with Ba'asyir.

Mahendratta said the summons for Ba'asyir did not mention the
Bali bombings, which killed nearly 200 people.

He said Ba'asyir is also charged with violating laws on
possession of explosives and firearms and destruction of
property.

"He is also suspected of breaking the immigration law for
allegedly entering and leaving Indonesia without a passport or
other travel documents," Mahendratta added.

If convicted, the elderly Muslim cleric could face the death
penalty for the explosives and firearms charges.

Mahendratta's colleague Djoko Trisnowidodo said the team of
lawyers were preparing a lawsuit against the National Police for
allegedly producing "baseless" charges against Ba'asyir.

Meanwhile in Surakarta, doctors said Ba'asyir's health was
improving, although he remained on an intravenous food drip and
oxygen nasal tube.

"In general, the patient's health is getting better. Only his
lung problems still require special treatment," said Ros Edi
Ariswati, the director of the Muhammadiyah hospital, who leads a
team of doctors treating the suspect.

Another doctor, Suradi, said respiratory problems resurfaced
after Ba'asyir was taken off oxygen on Sunday evening, forcing
the doctors to put him back on.

Speaking at a media conference, Ariswati would not say when
the 64-year-old cleric could be discharged from the hospital.

Despite the campaigns against Ba'asyir, support has begun to
drift into the hospital with several Muslim figures visiting the
bearded terrorist suspect.

On Monday, Nahdlatul Ulama leader Solahuddin Wahid, younger
brother of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, was
among the visitors after their uncle Yusuf Hasyim extended
similar moral support for the ailing cleric on Sunday.

However, Gus Dur told a radio interview broadcast on Monday
that "I believe that Ba'asyir is a terrorist and should have been
arrested a long time ago".

Criticizing Megawati's cautious approach toward radicals, Gus
Dur demanded that other extremist leaders soon be cracked down on
for a series of violent incidents purportedly committed in the
name of Islam.