OMEN
06-13-2006, 08:52 PM
http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5168445,00.jpg
Bashir ... the 2002 Bali bombings killed 202 people
THE media spotlight and a hero's welcome await the alleged spiritual head of the Jemaah Islamiah terror group, Abu Bakar Bashir, when he walks out of his Jakarta jail today.
Bashir, the firebrand cleric convicted of involvement in the first Bali bombings, this week completed a 25-month jail term for giving blessings as emir, or leader, of the Jemaah Islamiah terror network to the attacks which killed 88 Australians among 202 victims.
The 68-year-old has seemingly set aside no time for savouring life back on the outside.
Hardline supporters have planned a busy schedule including a road-trip back to the Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school he founded in Ngruki, on the outskirts of Solo in southern Java, and a visit to thousands of homeless earthquake survivors in nearby Yogyakarta.
"We haven't set the schedule, but the plan is to go by land," his adjutant Hasyim said.
Bashir will be met at the gates of Cipinang Prison by luminaries from his Majelis Mujihidin Indonesia, or Council of Islamic Warriors, which was rallying hundreds of faithful from around Jakarta to cheer his release, Hasyim said.The head of the Islamic Defenders Front, Habib Rizieq, whose members usually confine their activities to wrecking bars, brothels and other "immoral" haunts, would also be present, along with hard-core fellow cleric Arifin Ilham.
The charismatic Bashir would bring with him his new book, Proofs of The Days of Abu Bakar Bashir in Prison, co-written by MMI spokesman Fauzan Al-Anshari during his time in jail, Hasyim said.
The book, which condemns Australia as a land of "infidels", would go on sale alongside the best-selling 280 page jailhouse autobiography, Me Against the Terrorist, written by Bali bomb mastermind Ali Imron.
Al-Anshari said Christian and Buddhist priests would also greet Bashir on release.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer last week said Indonesia should freeze Bashir's bank assets and bar him from travelling overseas, adding Canberra "would have liked him to have spent more time in jail".
But a spokesman for Indonesia's Justice Ministry, Hamdan Abdullah, said Bashir's release carried no conditions and no obligation to report regularly to authorities.
"There will be some behaviour monitoring," he said. "But that observation carries no restrictions, because his term is finished and he is free."
International Crisis Group analyst Sidney Jones said Bashir was too well-known to again play a role in terror, despite warnings from some quarters his release could "revitalise" JI following the arrest of hundreds of members by security forces.
But he would, she said, become the spearhead of conservative efforts to bring Islamic sharia law to Indonesia, underscored by a current row over an anti-pornography bill which many Indonesians see as repressive.
"I think he is going to be a media celebrity for a while," Ms Jones said.
But it would be wrong to interpret the media spotlight as widespread support for terrorism in the world's largest Muslim country, as Bashir's limited popularity among majority moderates was more linked to his "defiance of the west", she said.
Hasyim said Bashir planned to teach again at Al Mukmin, which has been alma mater to a who's who of South-East Asian jihadists, including several of the Bali bombers.
He also expected invitations to speak to followers in conservative parts of East Java, as well as religiously-divided Poso in Central Sulawesi, where bloodletting between Christians and Muslims has continued despite a state brokered peace deal in 2001.
Ms Jones said a freeze on Bashir's assets was unlikely, though the Indonesian Government may still consider placing him on a "cekal" (banned) list restricting overseas travel.
But with his high profile and reputation, it was unlikely any of Indonesia's neighbours would want to play host anyway.
Ms Jones said a freed Bashir was unlikely to make much difference to Indonesia's battle against homegrown terrorism because the extremists headed by fugitive Malaysian Noordin Top "no longer sought approval from anybody".
AAP
Bashir ... the 2002 Bali bombings killed 202 people
THE media spotlight and a hero's welcome await the alleged spiritual head of the Jemaah Islamiah terror group, Abu Bakar Bashir, when he walks out of his Jakarta jail today.
Bashir, the firebrand cleric convicted of involvement in the first Bali bombings, this week completed a 25-month jail term for giving blessings as emir, or leader, of the Jemaah Islamiah terror network to the attacks which killed 88 Australians among 202 victims.
The 68-year-old has seemingly set aside no time for savouring life back on the outside.
Hardline supporters have planned a busy schedule including a road-trip back to the Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school he founded in Ngruki, on the outskirts of Solo in southern Java, and a visit to thousands of homeless earthquake survivors in nearby Yogyakarta.
"We haven't set the schedule, but the plan is to go by land," his adjutant Hasyim said.
Bashir will be met at the gates of Cipinang Prison by luminaries from his Majelis Mujihidin Indonesia, or Council of Islamic Warriors, which was rallying hundreds of faithful from around Jakarta to cheer his release, Hasyim said.The head of the Islamic Defenders Front, Habib Rizieq, whose members usually confine their activities to wrecking bars, brothels and other "immoral" haunts, would also be present, along with hard-core fellow cleric Arifin Ilham.
The charismatic Bashir would bring with him his new book, Proofs of The Days of Abu Bakar Bashir in Prison, co-written by MMI spokesman Fauzan Al-Anshari during his time in jail, Hasyim said.
The book, which condemns Australia as a land of "infidels", would go on sale alongside the best-selling 280 page jailhouse autobiography, Me Against the Terrorist, written by Bali bomb mastermind Ali Imron.
Al-Anshari said Christian and Buddhist priests would also greet Bashir on release.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer last week said Indonesia should freeze Bashir's bank assets and bar him from travelling overseas, adding Canberra "would have liked him to have spent more time in jail".
But a spokesman for Indonesia's Justice Ministry, Hamdan Abdullah, said Bashir's release carried no conditions and no obligation to report regularly to authorities.
"There will be some behaviour monitoring," he said. "But that observation carries no restrictions, because his term is finished and he is free."
International Crisis Group analyst Sidney Jones said Bashir was too well-known to again play a role in terror, despite warnings from some quarters his release could "revitalise" JI following the arrest of hundreds of members by security forces.
But he would, she said, become the spearhead of conservative efforts to bring Islamic sharia law to Indonesia, underscored by a current row over an anti-pornography bill which many Indonesians see as repressive.
"I think he is going to be a media celebrity for a while," Ms Jones said.
But it would be wrong to interpret the media spotlight as widespread support for terrorism in the world's largest Muslim country, as Bashir's limited popularity among majority moderates was more linked to his "defiance of the west", she said.
Hasyim said Bashir planned to teach again at Al Mukmin, which has been alma mater to a who's who of South-East Asian jihadists, including several of the Bali bombers.
He also expected invitations to speak to followers in conservative parts of East Java, as well as religiously-divided Poso in Central Sulawesi, where bloodletting between Christians and Muslims has continued despite a state brokered peace deal in 2001.
Ms Jones said a freeze on Bashir's assets was unlikely, though the Indonesian Government may still consider placing him on a "cekal" (banned) list restricting overseas travel.
But with his high profile and reputation, it was unlikely any of Indonesia's neighbours would want to play host anyway.
Ms Jones said a freed Bashir was unlikely to make much difference to Indonesia's battle against homegrown terrorism because the extremists headed by fugitive Malaysian Noordin Top "no longer sought approval from anybody".
AAP