Sunday June 18, 2006
Howard will express Australia's anger at militant cleric's release to Indonesian leader
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Prime Minister John Howard on Sunday said he would take a message of anger into talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Indonesia later this month, about the release from prison of a militant cleric linked to the Bali terrorist bombings.
"I will be communicating to the president in person the anger of the Australian community, particularly those associated with people who died in Bali in 2002,'' Howard told Australia's Nine Network television.
Howard has already sent Yudhoyono a strongly worded letter about the release of Abu Bakar Bashir, who was freed on Wednesday after serving 26 months for conspiracy in the Bali attacks, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians.
Bashir is the alleged spiritual leader of the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is blamed for a series of terrorist attacks in Indonesia, including one on the Australian Embassy.
Differences over his release have threatened to add difficulties to a period of already rocky relations between Australia and Indonesia. Australian leaders say Bashir should have stayed in prison. Indonesian officials have bristled at what they see as interference in Indonesia's affairs.
Howard said he would press Yudhoyono to comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution that imposes restrictions on designated terrorists. The restrictions would include freezing Bashir's assets and stopping him from traveling internationally.
"This man, although he was not directly involved, he is the spiritual leader of an organization that gave a general benediction to the whole event,'' Howard said of Bashir and the Bali attacks.
Howard said he accepted that the decision to release Bashir was made by the courts, and that Yudhoyono's government was not directly responsible.
Howard is due to meet Yudhoyono on the Indonesian island of Batam on June 26. - AP
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