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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesian police follow Bali school tip |
| 2005-10-06 |
| Indonesian police say they are pursuing a tip from a caller who claimed that one of the Bali bombers studied in an area famous for its hardline Islamic schools. The possible lead was one of the few announced by police since they began circulating nationwide photographs of the three bombers' bruised severed heads, recovered from the weekend attacks on the crowded restaurants in the resort island. The blasts Saturday killed 22 and injured 104. The tipster called police in Solo, a city on the main island of Java, and said one of the bombers had studied in the area, home to a hardline Islamic boarding school attended by several militants convicted in previous terror attacks, Solo's police chief commissioner Abdul Madjid said Wednesday. "He identified one of the bombers," said Madjid, adding that the caller claimed the man's name was "Gareng." Madjid provided no further information and said authorities were pursuing the lead. Investigators across the country were interrogating jailed terror convicts, seeking information about the bombers, Bali police chief Maj. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika said. "So far the detained terrorists do not know them," Pastika said. Those questioned included Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Imam Samudra, sentenced to death for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. Meanwhile, the recent bombings have triggered new calls for Washington to give Indonesian investigators access to detained Southeast Asian terror mastermind Hambali -- a Muslim cleric once dubbed Osama bin Laden's point man in Southeast Asia. Washington's refusal, a long-standing irritant between the two nations, comes as the United States tries to boost anti-terror cooperation with Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. "I think the time has now come for the United States to give full access to the Indonesian police so they can interrogate Hambali," said Theo Sambuaga, chairman of Parliament's political and security commission. However, U.S. State Department press officer Tom Casey said Wednesday that the United States had shared with Indonesia information they had received from Hambali. "We believe those responsible for terrorist acts in Indonesia should be brought to justice, and we are committed to cooperate to that end," Casey said. The United States says giving Indonesian investigators access to Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, could compromise their own investigation of him, reportedly involving alleged links to two of the September 11 hijackers and a plan to recruit new pilots for another wave of suicide hijackings in the United States. Hambali, a 41-year-old Indonesian citizen, is also accused of being Jemaah Islamiya's operations chief. Thai forces and the CIA captured him two years ago in the ancient Thai temple city of Ayutthaya. He was handed over to U.S. authorities and flown to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Asked about access, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday reissued a statement from last year saying it "was committed to allow the Indonesian government to bring Hambali to justice for terrorist attacks perpetrated in Indonesia by Jemaah Islamiyah at the appropriate time. However, we have set no timetable for such a turnover." On Wednesday, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on his military to stamp out the scourge of terrorism, saying the bombings "have spoiled Indonesia's reputation in the eyes of the world." Saturday's attacks have put Southeast Asian nations on high alert to prevent more bombings. Hundreds of thousands of troops were on standby, while security was tightened on beaches and along borders. Bomb disposal squads and hazardous materials experts were rushed to the U.S., British, Australian, French and Russian embassies in Malaysia on Wednesday after receiving packages threatening retaliation for perceived injustices against the Muslim world, police said. The parcels were later dismissed as a hoax, as were similar envelopes sent to six other diplomatic missions a day earlier, said Abdul Aziz Bulat, the chief of Kuala Lumpur police criminal investigation. But Indonesia has said such a ban would be ineffective because the elusive underground group has no established organization. However, officials have pledged to aggressively fight terrorism. Bali meanwhile tried to get back to business, with shops installing shatterproof glass and some hotels hiring one security guard for every 10 rooms. Police have been out in force, patrolling the streets and airport. Bali has been a popular tourism destination for decades -- particularly for Australians, with more than 200,000 making the trip last year. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |