Patek planned to meet bin Laden Karlis Salna, AAP South-East Asia Correspondent
May 4, 2011 - 8:24PM AAP Authorities in Indonesia have confirmed that the country's most wanted terrorist, Umar Patek, arrested earlier this year in the same city where Osama bin Laden was killed, was there to meet the al-Qaeda chief. Indonesia's Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Wednesday warned that the death of bin Laden, killed by US forces at a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on Sunday, did not necessarily diminish the threat posed by al-Qaeda. "The death of Osama bin Laden ... will give a shock to al-Qaeda. But what we're afraid (of) is al-Qaeda will not stop," Purnomo said. Advertisement: Story continues below "With the killing of Osama bin Laden, we (should not) go to sleep. We have to keep wake up, especially in Indonesia." He also confirmed that Patek, arrested in January in Abbottabad, had been there to meet bin Laden. "The information that we have with Umar Patek, (and about) why he was in Pakistan ... is (he was) trying to meet with Osama bin Laden," Purnomo said. While analysts say al-Qaeda's influence in Indonesia has waned, it has in the past had direct links with Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the group responsible for a series of terrorist attacks in the country. It remains unclear why Patek, who was a deputy field commander with JI during the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, was trying to meet bin Laden. But unconfirmed reports in the Indonesian media have suggested he was there to meet al-Qaeda operatives and plan attacks to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2001. The confirmation from Purnomo that Patek, who trained in Afghanistan, intended to meet bin Laden adds credibility to the report. Asked if the US had provided any information about whether Patek had succeeded in meeting with bin Laden in January, before his arrest, or at other times in the past, Purnomo said: "No, we don't have yet that information from the US". Purnomo added that negotiations were still under way to have Patek brought back to Indonesia to face charges over the Bali bombings, as well as other terrorist attacks. "We asked Umar Patek to be brought back to Indonesia but so far it has not happened," he said. The comments came as Islamic groups in Indonesia continued to condemn the killing of bin Laden, ahead of a mass prayer to mourn his death to be held at the headquarters of the hardline group, the Islamic Defenders Front, in central Jakarta on Wednesday evening. A spokesman for Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), the group led by alleged terrorist Abu Bakar Bashir, compared bin Laden to the Prophet Mohammed. "If he is truly dead, then that's a victory for Osama as an individual because he already got what he's been wishing for, which is to die as a martyr. That (made him) the second most noble (person) after the Prophet," JAT spokesman Sonhadi said. Amidhan, the chairman of the Indonesian Clerics' Council, said bin Laden was "an icon for global terrorism and an idol for the world against the American oppression". "The news of Osama's death has also brought two kinds of responses. Those who cheered it like the US and its allies, and those who grieve over it," he said. © 2011 AAP ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
