The Jakarta Post, June 16, 2006
RI to impose international travel ban on Ba'asyir
Abdul Khalik and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia will effect various restrictive measures on Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, including a
travel ban, due to the militant cleric's inclusion on the UN's consolidated list of
terrorists.
"As a responsible member of the UN, we will obey its Resolution No. 1267, which
obliged us to ban those on the list from traveling, freeze their assets and impose ban
on arms possession," Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya told a press
briefing Friday.
Under article 7 of its chapter on fighting terror, the UN asked the Security Council to
list individuals with links to the Taliban, al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, including his
entities and associates. The UN then issued Resolution No. 1267 listing thousands of
people implicated in terror acts, including Ba'asyir among the 10 Indonesians.
Desra said Indonesia had the mechanism for obeying the resolution and believed local
law enforcers were aware of its contents and knew what to do.
"We have the PPATK (Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center) to monitor
his assets, as well as prosecutors and police to take necessary actions."
The alleged spiritual leader of the militant Islamic group Jamaah Islamiyah was freed
Wednesday after serving nearly 26 months for conspiracy in the Bali bombings, which
killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian holidaymakers.
Australia and the U.S. expressed their deep disappointment after Ba'asyir walked
free.
Warning that his release could instigate terror acts and inspire bombing perpetrators,
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Indonesia had a responsibility to
monitor Ba'asyir based on a UN resolution.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that he had sent a letter to President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressing his deep disappointment at the release.
Desra dismissed Downer's suggestion, saying Indonesia was a sovereign country with
its own position on the matter.
"We won't let another country dictate to us. Australia has the right to deliver its
opinion, but Indonesia also has the right to maintain its position as a sovereign state."
Separately, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that he could understand Howard's
feelings because many Australian citizens died in the bombings, but stressed
Ba'asyir had no assets left that could be frozen.
"Now that Ba'asyir is free, what assets are there to be confiscated? And I believe
Howard understands the law. What assets of a free man can be confiscated? Even
his Islamic boarding school belongs to the public. How can we freeze it?" he told
reporters.
Kalla said that a court cannot make a verdict based on evidence outside the law, and
Indonesia operates according to its own law enforcement.
"The UN may have indications (that Ba'asyir was involved in terrorist activities), but
everything has to be done in accordance with Indonesian laws," he said.
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
