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Witness: al-Qaida Aided Indonesia Attacks
A suspected Muslim radical testified Thursday that the al-Qaida terror group financed Southeast Asian militant attacks in Indonesia, possibly including the Oct. 12 Bali blasts that killed 202 people. Wan Min Wan Matâs testimony, via videolink from a Malaysian prison, was the strongest indication yet of a financial link between al-Qaida and Jemaah Islamiyah, the regional terror group blamed for carrying out the bombings. Wan Min was testifying at the trial of Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, an alleged senior operative of Jemaah Islamiyah. Ghufron is charged with carrying out the two nightclub bombings on Bali in October, 2002. Wan Min, a prosecution witness who allegedly supplied weapons and arms training to Muslim militants in the Philippines, testified that earlier in 2002 he gave $35,500 in three installments to Ghufron, who was then in Thailand. The guys who hand out the money make the best witnesses. "It was for terror attacks in Indonesia," Wan Min said. "I donât know whether it was used for Bali. From my conversations with (Ghufron), I heard that that the money came from outside sources," Wan Min said. When asked by prosecutors what he meant by outside sources, Wan Min replied slowly but clearly: "Al-Qaida." Wan Min was arrested in Malaysia in September and is being held for allegedly maintaining ties to terrorist groups. His testimony was the clearest yet publicly naming al-Qaida as a possible financer of terror attacks organized by Jemaah Islamiyah - which is said to be seeking to set up an Islamic superstate in Southeast Asia. In the past, Indonesian police have said the Bali bombings were financed with robberies of a jewelry shop and by donations from radical Muslims in Indonesia. The big money comes from places with lots of sand. In Thursdayâs testimony, Wan Min said Ghufron attended meetings in Thailand to plan terror attacks in Indonesia. But Ghufron denied that. "Nothing happened in Thailand," he said. "I was just running and trying to hide." I find this interesting. They admit to bombing, stealing and everything else, but swear up and down that nothing ever happened in Thailand. It makes me wonder what really is going on there. Ghufron had earlier told a court that he was the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah and fought alongside Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Ghufronâs attorneys played down Wan Minâs testimony and criticized the Malaysian law allowing suspects to be held without charges being filed. Wan Min is among scores of alleged Islamic militants detained without trial in Malaysia and Singapore, and accused of involvement in Jemaah Islamiyah plots. "He is not free," defense lawyer Wirawan Adnan said. "The witness is clearly under duress at a detention in Malaysia and held under their Internal Security Act, which is widely known and condemned worldwide as it violates human rights." Wan Min grinned to Ghufron several times and exchanged waves via the videolink. "Look at me, Iâm somebody." Posted by: Steve 2003-07-31 |
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