ANTARA, Oct 09 22:20
Indonesia has never recognized Jamaah Islamiyah: Kalla says
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that Indonesia had never
inaugurated nor recognized the Jamaah Islamiyah organization which had often been
accused of being responsible for terrorist attacks in many parts of the world, and
therefore its dissolution (by Indonesia) is entirely out of the question.
"We have never inaugurated the organization. So how could we dissolve it?" Kalla said
after the closing of the Batik Exhibition at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center here
on Sunday in response to Australian Prime Minister John Howard`s request to shut
down the organization in Indonesia.
According to Kalla, it was still unclear whether such organization really existed in
Indonesia.
"Of course, we have never said that we have banned it. From the very beginning the
government had never recognized it. If we have never recognized it, and we did not
know who they are, so how could we ban it?" he added.
The most important thing is, he said, "all of us must oppose it if there is something
wrong with them".
Asked why the government did not ban the JI, the vice president said "How could we
ban it? We do not even know the form of their existence."
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has asked the Indonesian government to
immediately dissolve the JI, which was strongly suspected of involvement in the bomb
blasts in Bali on Oct 1, 2005.
The Indonesian government has yet to make an official response to the request.(*)
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