<http://online.wsj.com/article_print/0,,SB110989320780470061,00.html>
The Wall Street Journal March 4, 2005 REVIEW & OUTLOOK A Terrorist Wins in Indonesia March 4, 2005 Make Abu Bakar Baasyir the pinup boy of the set that believes that fighting terrorism is merely a law enforcement matter, to be fought in civilian courts under the strictures of habeas corpus and other evidentiary requirements. The 66-year-old terrorist and suspected mastermind of the Bali and Marriott Hotel bombings could be out walking Indonesia's streets in a few months. A Jakarta court yesterday cleared Baasyir of the bombing charges and even of inspiring others to carry them out. It did find him guilty of conspiracy in the Bali horror, but for that it sentenced him only to 30 months in prison. Baasyir has been in prison since last April, so that time will count, which means he will be out before the end of 2006. Chances are that the fundamentalist Islamist cleric won't even do that much time. He's likely to win on appeal, observers say. The evidence is strong that Baasyir headed the al Qaeda southeast Asian affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah. It is said that Osama bin Laden once offered him asylum in Afghanistan before the U.S. overthrew the Taliban. But the case failed largely because the prosecutors' hands were tied by last year's Constitutional Court's ruling that an anti-terrorism law could not be applied retroactively. Alas, Indonesia has not yet even made JI illegal, and continues to pretend that the organization does not exist. Baasyir's lawyers deposed some interesting defense witnesses. One was Frederick Burks, who professes a belief in UFOs and that the U.S. government may have plotted the Sept. 11 attacks, when he's not communing with dolphins. The Bahasa-speaking Mr. Burks had achieved local prominence by somehow surviving State Department vetting to become an interpreter for George W. Bush during the president's visits to Indonesia. Mr. Burks told the court that at a supposedly secret meeting between a presidential envoy and Indonesia's then President Megawatti Sukarnoputri in 2002 the U.S. official asked that Baasyir be arrested and handed over to U.S. authorities. The meeting came before the Bali bombing, which should have shown how acting on such a request would have saved the lives of the 202 victims of the atrocity. The defense however used it as evidence to prove one of its points, that the United States "had it in" for Baasyir. And, no, the prosecution wasn't able to question Mr. Burks about his off-the-wall activities or beliefs, or reports that he has taken ecstasy or peyote as part of his "spiritual journey." A judge decided that this was all inadmissible evidence. Mr. Burk's testimony was very helpful in making Baasyir's case that, as the Islamist cleric repeated yesterday after his sentence was handed down, U.S. involvement in the trial was "loud and clear." But Baasyir is far from "the nice old man" that Mr. Burks contends he is. A letter from Baasyir to Mr. Bush that Mr. Burks says he dropped in a letterbox upon his return to California, promised that the U.S. president "will be punished with horrific torture in the afterlife." Not all the news is bad out of Indonesia, however. Sidney Jones, the International Crisis Group's Southeast Asian director, says for example that the government of new President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should be judged not by this trial, most of the preparation for which had taken place before his election last year, but by three other standards. The first is the number of terrorism suspects who have been arrested, which now is well over 200. The second is whether the anti-terrorism operations are continuing, and Ms. Jones says the answer is yes. And the third is whether the round-up operation is affecting JI's ability to conduct terrorism, "and the answer is also yes," Ms. Jones told us by telephone. There's also another side to yesterday's court fiasco. It shakes the common belief that terrorism is merely a law enforcement problem. If it is so hard to try and convict one of the leaders of a terrorist group, does that assumption hold up? It looks like Baasyir will be back in business again soon, with whatever consequences might ensue. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. 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