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Govt blamed for Bashir remission
failure
 Islamic
radicals have angrily accused Australia of meddling in Indonesia's
internal affairs after Jakarta changed its mind and refused
to slice a month of the prison sentence of Abu Bakar Bashir
who is accused of inspiring the 2002 Bali bombings.
The surprise backflip raises the risk of stirring an anti-Australian
backlash among his extremist supporters inside and outside
the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror group.
It was also unclear whether 27 other convicted Bali bombers
had received remissions granted to thousands of other inmates
to celebrate the end of the Ramadan fasting month.
Bashir had been in line for a one-month cut, a prospect
opposed by the Howard government.
Initially, Indonesian Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin had
pledged that Indonesia would not bow to foreign pressure.
But he reversed course and announced the 67-year-old firebrand
cleric had been denied a remission.
Awaluddin refused to say why or whether the decision was
the result of a lobbying mission to Jakarta by Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer, who last month urged President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono to block it.
"Bashir didn't get it," was all Awaluddin would
say in a text message received by AAP.
Mr Downer was unavailable for comment.
Bashir's personal aide Hasyim Abdullah told AAP the denial
was the direct result of Australian "meddling".
A spokesman for Bashir's Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI),
or Indonesian Council of Holy Warriors, said Bashir was
being unfairly treated."We deplore the Australian regime,
which is clearly intervening in the judicial process,"
the MMI's Fauzan al-Anshari said.Fauzan urged Bashir's followers
and all Indonesian Muslims to remain calm.
Students from his Ngruki Islamic boarding school - characterised
as a "terrorist nursery" - rioted in Jakarta last
year."We advise all his followers to be patient and
not be emotional," he said. Bashir, who denies any
links with JI, founded MMI in 2000 with the avowed aim of
promoting the adoption of strict Islamic law in secular
Indonesia.
He was convicted of being part of the 2002 Bali bomb plot
last year and was sentenced to 30 months in jail.
This was reduced by four months in August to mark Indonesian
independence celebrations - a move that infuriated Australia.
Currently, Bashir is due for release around June next year.
The head of the terrorism desk at Indonesia's Security Ministry,
Major-General Ansyaad M'bai, played down fears of a pro-Bashir
backlash.
"I think the terrorists and MMI are already angry at
us, so it will not make any difference," he said.
Bashir appeared sanguine about the decision.
"He said: 'I have already been jailed for four years
for things I didn't do, so another month in prison is not
a problem'," on his lawyers Adnan Wirawan said.
The 2002 Bali bombings killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.Three
of the bombers are now on Indonesia's death row.Nineteen
others are behind bars Denpasar's notorious Kerobokan Prison.
Seven are being held in the East Kalimantan capital Balikpapan
and one is kept at the national police headquarters in Jakarta
to help the investigation into last month's triple suicide
bombings in Bali.
(smh/110305/IM)
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