[Bali] Critics of terrorism trial blasted
Anne Warfield
Critics of terrorism trial blasted
U.S. didn't help, Indonesians say
New York Times News Service
Published September 8, 2003
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesians across the political spectrum are
lashing back at international criticism of the verdict in the trial of
the militant Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who was acquitted of
terrorism charges last week. The Indonesians say the U.S. refused to
share intelligence information that would have helped convict him and
that it is unseemly for Western democracies to criticize a public
trial's outcome.
The court found that the cleric was not the leader of the Jemaah
Islamiyah terrorist organization, and it sentenced him to 4 years for
sedition, arising from his support for an Islamic state.
"This nascent democracy does not need any backlash from the U.S. and
its allies," the moderate Jakarta Post, the country's largest
English-language daily, wrote in an editorial Friday. "What it does
need is honest global cooperation in its war against terrorism."
"There was important information missing from Bashir's trial, which
could have been gotten from Hambali," said Indonesia's foreign
minister, Hassan Wirayada. "This information would have connected
Bashir with the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group."
Hambali, considered a top operative of Al Qaeda and a leader of Jemaah
Islamiyah, is an Indonesian whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin. He
was seized last month by the CIA and the Thai police, working
together. The United States is holding him at a secret location and
has not let foreign interrogators near him.
The United States and Australia withheld considerable information
collected by their intelligence agencies about Bashir from the
Indonesian prosecutors, said officials from those countries.
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
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--
Anne Warfield
indigoace at goodsol period com
http://www.goodsol.com/cats/