The Age, October 4, 2005
PM urges Indonesia to ban JI
By Mark Forbes, Denpasar
Michelle Grattan and Brendan Nicholson
Prime Minister John Howard will urge Indonesia to ban terror group Jemaah Islamiah
in the wake of the latest Bali bombings, which investigators say were masterminded
by two prominent JI figures.
Mr Howard, after speaking with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
about the attacks, said yesterday they bore all the hallmarks of JI, and that Australia
would again pursue a ban - which Jakarta has previously opposed.
The move came as the Australian government said there was no truth to reports that
Indonesian police had arrested a man believed to have helped plan the bombings.
An Australian newspaper today reported Indonesian police believe a man they
arrested within hours of Saturday night's restaurant bombings helped plan the attacks.
The man, named as Abdullah, was captured on a public bus, the report said.
But Justice Minister Chris Ellison said as far as he knew there had been no arrest.
"My advice is that that is not true, that such an arrest did not take place," Senator
Ellison told ABC Radio National today.
"There are many rumours abounding ... as you can appreciate in this environment.
"But that is not true and I've made inquiries."
Authorities across South-East Asia acted to step up security in tourist resorts and
other vulnerable sites, and as investigators in Indonesia identified the suicide cell
behind the latest strike and were searching Bali for at least three organisers.
The Indonesian Government's counter-terrorism chief, Ansyaad Mbai, told The Age
that significant breakthroughs had been made in the investigation.
But Bali police denied media reports that someone had already been arrested over the
attacks.
Major-General Mbai identified senior Jemaah Islamiah bomb makers Azahari Husin
and Noordin Mohamad Top as the masterminds of the attack. The pair - blamed for
the 2002 Bali bombing, the Marriott Hotel blast and the bombing of Australia's Jakarta
embassy - have evaded capture for three years.
Information provided by imprisoned JI operatives had provided vital leads in the latest
case, Major-General Mbai said. It is believed one of the operatives was a close
associate of Noordin and Azahari.
Asked if the two bomb makers organised the attacks, he replied: "Azahari and
Noordin are always behind these incidents, so what else?"
According to local hospitals, 26 people died in the bombings, although police last
night continued to put the death toll at 22, including the bombers.
Four Australians were among the dead, including WA teenager Brendan Fitzgerald
and Newcastle mother Jennifer Williamson. Officials were awaiting DNA testing to
confirm the deaths of missing Newcastle couple Colin and Fiona Zwolinski.
By late yesterday, 16 injured Australians had been evacuated to Singapore and
Darwin, with several listed as critical. Another five Australians had been discharged
from hospital.
Darwin Hospital general manager Len Notaras said victims had injuries similar to
those seen in war zones. Some still had nails, bolts and ball bearings from the bombs
embedded in their bodies.
The identities of the three suicide bombers remained unknown last night, despite the
wide distribution of photographs of their faces, which indicated they were all aged in
their 20s.
The officer in charge of Australia's victim identification team in Bali, Mick Travers,
confirmed that Australian experts were involved in trying to identify the bombers, as
well as victims.
Indonesian deputy police chief Brigadier-General Sunarko warned that the
co-ordinated suicide bombings in tourist cafes represented "a new method" by local
terrorists, and security precautions needed to be upgraded.
He said police had not determined how the bombs were exploded. The three bombers
wore vests or backpacks packed with TNT and ball bearings - to maximise the
damage of the blasts - according to police.
Mr Howard predicted that the latest attacks would bring Indonesia and Australia
closer together, saying he and President Yudhoyono had agreed that "we owe it to
those who have lost their lives to ensure that the evil deeds of these evil people do not
drive our two countries apart".
Mr Howard warned that Australians would have to "endure this kind of thing in our
region for some time into the future. There isn't going to be an easy victory over
terrorism".
While confirming that he would pursue with Jakarta the issue of outlawing JI, Mr
Howard warned that a ban would not automatically curtail the group.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer agreed, saying "there'd be a lot of ways these
people could get around that particular technical outlawing".
Labor foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd called on the Government to make the
banning of JI a priority in its dealings with Jakarta.
"In the aftermath of the second Bali bombings, it is time to take a hard line on the
banning of Jemaah Islamiah," Mr Rudd said.
Replying to reports that before the attacks there had been local rumours of likely
bombings, Mr Howard said no specific intelligence had been received.
Meanwhile, officials have stepped up security across South-East Asia.
Malaysia boosted defences at embassies and border posts, and joined the
Philippines in saying its authorities would intensify intelligence gathering about
militant networks.
Thailand stepped up security at tourist resorts and warned that terrorists like those
behind the Bali bombings used a network of contacts to move undetected around
South-East Asia.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said extra plain-clothes officers would be
deployed at major tourist spots such as Phuket.
- with Selma Milovanovic, agencies
Copyright © 2004. The Age Company Ltd.
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