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| Sunday, 20 October 2002 |
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Indonesia passes tough anti-terror decree, faces test over Bashir JAKARTA, Saturday (AFP) The Indonesian government has armed itself with sweeping powers including the death penalty to fight terrorism but faced the first test of its resolve Saturday when a bombings suspect failed to attend a summons for questioning. Deeply shaken by the October 12 terror bombing in the resort island of Bali, the government early Saturday announced it had issued an emergency anti-terror decree. No details were given but officials and ministers said earlier it authorises the death penalty for terrorist acts and allows suspects to be held for up to six months without trial. "This regulation may reduce some rights but all of this is intended to protect the greater rights of human beings," said Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra in response to fears it could usher in a new era of Suharto-style repression. One decree contains the new measures. A separate decree allows them to be applied retroactively to cover the bombing which killed at least 186 people and probably scores more. Just hours later a radical Indonesian Muslim cleric accused of terrorism links failed to leave hospital to answer a police summons for questioning. His lawyers said he may be tired and under stress. Singapore and Malaysia accuse the cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, of terror links. Singapore says he is the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terror group suspected to be linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. "We would like to officially inform the police that ustadz (teacher) Abu Bakar Bashir cannot appear today because he is still at the hospital (in Solo in Central Java," lawyer Mahendradatta said at national police headquarters in Jakarta. "The treatment is still at the observation stage. Apparently the doctors have not yet determined anything," he told reporters. Asked about the cleric's symptoms, the lawyer said: "He has difficulty in breathing apparently because he was too tired. Maybe he is also suffering from stress because he feels he has been slandered." Aides to the 64-year-old Bashir say he collapsed Friday and was rushed to hospital, one day before he was ordered to answer the summons for questioning as a suspect in bombings and a treason case. Indonesian police say they summoned Bashir after Omar al-Faruq, an alleged al-Qaeda operative detained by US authorities, implicated the cleric during questioning by Indonesian investigators. Megawati's government will come under strong international pressure to pursue the case against Bashir, a fiery orator who makes no secret of his admiration for bin Laden. |
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