PR NEWS ASIA, 07 May 02 - 15:27
Indonesian vice president visits detained Islamic militia chief
JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) - Vice President Hamzah Haz has visited the arrested leader of
an Islamic paramilitary group who is accused of inciting a massacre of Christian
villagers.
The visit came one day after the government gave its backing for the arrest of Jaffar
Umar Thalib, the commander of the Laskar Jihad.
"We Muslims are brothers. There's nothing wrong with visiting someone in trouble and
sympathising," Haz told reporters before arriving at national police headquarters.
Haz, who heads the largest Muslim party the United Development Party, said the
government would not intervene in the case.
"We have to respect the law. Of course police have concrete data (to arrest him). The
government won't intervene," he told reporters.
Thalib has been charged with insulting the president and vice president and inciting
people to attack a Christian village in the Maluku islands on April 28 in which 13
people were killed.
Haz's visit came as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines sealed a trilateral
security pact in a bid to bolster cooperation to combat regional terror groups. bur/rf
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