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Hambali: Jakarta firm on access

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Aug. 18. Even as Indonesia celebrated its Independence Day in a state of unprecedented security vigil on Sunday, the political attention remained centred on the need to have direct access to Hambali, an Indonesian national and a suspected terror-monger in U.S.' custody.

There were no reports of any terrorist violence across Indonesia, and the authorities in Jakarta stepped up their efforts to secure access to Hambali. The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hasan Wirajuda, said in Jakarta that the President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, spoke to her U.S. counterpart, George W. Bush, on information about and access to Hambali.

Jakarta would like to send a team to ascertain facts and interrogate Hambali at the unspecified location where he was being held under U.S.' custody since his capture in Thailand a few days ago. Despite Hambali's capture, during the course of his suspected preparations for a terrorist strike in Thailand to coincide with a summit of the forum for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) there later this year, the threat perception as regards that conference was not lowered by the authorities.

Mr. Bush is scheduled to participate in the APEC summit in October. An Indonesian security official said that the primary purpose of the requisition was to ascertain the "future terrorist plans'' of the suspect.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, said in Australia that it would be "a foolish assumption'' to imagine that the terrorist threats in the Asia Pacific region had come down as a result of Hambali's arrest.

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