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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesian speaker obfuscates, waffles... |
| 2002-10-21 |
| Jakarta Post Indonesia's House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung maintained Monday that the arrest of chairman of the radical Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, should be based on solid proof rather than on pressure from a third party. If there's solid proof presented by a third party, they will probably pressure the Indons to act on it... "In addition, the humanitarian aspects and the principle of presumption of innocence should always be upheld," he told journalists at the legislative assembly building as quoted by Antara. The presumption of innocence is only a presumption. People aren't innocent by virtue of their position in civilized countries... Except for O.J. and Bill, of course. Akbar, who himself was recently convicted on corruption charges but is free pending appeal, said the plan to arrest Ba'asyir should also consider all evidence being divulged in examinations, including those culled from the man himself against testimonies by another party. "As such, there is an urgent need to check-and-recheck the testimonies of Omar al-Faruq, as well as those by Ba'asyir himself," he said. In this check-and-recheck arrangement, Akbar explained, testimonies by al-Faruq should be compared to any made by Ba'asyir, and those by the latter be checked with the former. However, Akbar admitted that he did not know whether al-Faruq could be brought back to Indonesia "Yasss... If we talk about it long enough, one or the other will die of old age and then we'll avoid having to actually do someting, because that would be unpleasant..." Speaking also in regard to humanitarian concerns, Akbar suggested that the police postpone Ba'asyir's arrest until he recovers from his apparent illness. "When'll that be?" "Oh, in about 12 years..." The House speaker also reminded the police that Ba'asyir's arrest could not be based on the newly sanctioned government regulation in lieu of a House-approved law (Perpu) against terrorism. Akbar pointed out that the regulation was sanctioned to handle future terrorism cases and the Oct. 12 bombing in Kuta, Bali province. "The retroactive nature of the regulation can only cover the Bali bombing, but not earlier ones," he stated. "Bombing a few churches and plotting to kill Madame President? Nothing! |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |