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Accused cleric denies involvement in Bali blast
By Amy Chew
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Radical Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, accused by Washington of being the spiritual leader of a regional terrorist group, has denied any involvement in the Bali explosions, instead blaming "foreign parties" including the United States for the attack. Speaking in the Central Javanese city of Solo, Baasyir, 64, said it was "highly possible" that America was behind the blast to strengthen its claim that Indonesia was a hotbed of terrorism. "America has long given the impression that Indonesia is a nest of terrorists, " Baasyir was quoted as saying in Solo, Central Java, by local internet news service, Detikcom. "The explosion may have been done to strengthen claims that Indonesia is truly a nest of terrorists." He added: "It is not possible for the blast to be carried out by someone in the country. Given the powerful explosives which were used, it was surely done by foreign parties." "It is highly possible that it was America but one cannot dismiss the possibility that the act will be blamed on a Muslim, including myself," Baasyir was quoted as saying on Sunday evening. Baasyir is alleged to be part of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a regional terrorist group, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terror network. The group's stated goal is to replace the current secular governments of Southeast Asia with an all-encompassing Islamic state stretching from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and southern Philippines. ArrestsJI members have been arrested in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines for plotting attacks against American interests across the region in the past few months. Baasyir is a free man in the country and Indonesian authorities have in the past said there is no evidence to link him to terrorists acts and therefore cannot arrest him without evidence. The government fears triggering a backlash in the world's largest Muslim country keen to avoid alienating the moderate majority.
However, several governments including the United States have called for Baasyir's arrest and say Indonesia has not been doing enough to tackle the potential terrorist threat. Last month Time magazine reported that a senior Al-Qaeda operative, Omar al-Faruq, had linked Baasyir to JI during interrogation by the CIA. Al-Faruq, a Kuwaiti national, was arrested in Indonesia by security forces on June 5 and handed over to the United States. Nonetheless Baasyir has continued to receive the tacit backing of Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz who earlier this year defended him against allegations of being a terrorist. Haz said that if the authorities wanted to arrest Baasyir, they had to arrest him first. Haz has also denied suggestions that there were any terrorist groups in Indonesia, warning that governments who accused Indonesia of harboring Islamic terrorists could incite violence in the country. On Sunday, Haz said Indonesia's "weak intelligence" were to blame for the Bali bombings for failing to deter such attacks.
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