Indonesia on high alert
The U.S. and Australian embassies in Indonesia received bomb threats ahead of the imminent execution of the Bali bombers.»'Hundreds will avenge them'
Embassies threatened as Indonesia awaits executions
<cite class="auth">AFP - Tuesday, November 4
</cite>JAKARTA (AFP) - - The US and Australian embassies in Indonesia received bomb threats Tuesday as tensions rose ahead of the imminent execution of three Islamists convicted over the Bali bombings.
<!--Vendor: Yahoo, Format: Standard --><script language="javascript"> if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['pNttVXxseNI-']='&U=13fimqt8d%2fN%3dpNttVXxseNI-%2fC%3d707048.13076240.13278274.2013436%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d5539901%2fV%3d1'; </script><noscript>
</noscript>A US embassy spokesman said a threat had been received and was being taken seriously. "We are working closely with the Indonesian police," he said. Police announced the all clear after searches of the heavily guarded embassy compounds failed to find any bombs. The threat sent to police by text message reportedly said: "I have put TNT bombs around the US and Australian embassies. I will pull the trigger if Amrozi and his friends are executed," referring to the Bali bombers. "We're investigating this to find out who sent the threat," police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said.
An Australian foreign affairs department spokesman said: "Threats of this nature are not unexpected under the circumstances." Security has been boosted across the mainly Muslim archipelago amid fears of reprisal attacks by Islamic militants following the executions. Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas, 48, and Imam Samudra, 38, are expected to be executed by firing squad this week. The 2002 attacks targeted nightspots packed with Western tourists, killing 202 people including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians. The bombers said the attacks were revenge for US aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Australia has warned citizens against travel to Indonesia, and the United States -- which lost seven nationals in the attack -- has warned Americans in the country to "maintain a low profile." About 30 emotional supporters arrived at Mukhlas and Amrozi's home village of Tenggulun, east Java, around dawn Monday and denounced the executions as "murder" in emotional speeches at an Islamic boarding school. "There are hundreds of us waiting to come... If Amrozi is executed a thousand more will come," said Abdulrahim, a member of the group led by radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
Bashir is one of the founders of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror network, which is blamed for the Bali bombings and other attacks across Southeast Asia. Other supporters wore balaclavas and gave shouted speeches vowing destruction for the United States, its regional ally Australia and Israel. A brother of the condemned men, Jafar Shoddiq, made an emotional appeal for support from Muslims everywhere. "All Muslims besides those who support us will come without being invited," he said, before shouting: "Raise your voice... raise your voice to prevent disaster from God."
Mujazzin Marzuki, a leader of Bashir's group, said: "We reject the executions, they are murder." The bombers have failed with each of their appeals against the death sentence, including a last-minute petition filed on Monday. Anti-death penalty campaigners have complained that the three men were convicted and sentenced under a 2003 anti-terror law that was applied retroactively. Indonesians generally practise a moderate version of Islam but a fanatical fringe led by Jemaah Islamiyah has waged jihad, or holy war, for many years in a bid to bring about a regional Islamic caliphate.
The Bali attacks were the bloodiest in a sustained period of Al-Qaeda-inspired jihadist violence in the world's most populous Muslim country. Bombings at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003, the Australian embassy in 2004 and Bali again in 2005, among others, killed scores of people. The alleged mastermind of the Bali bombings and subsequent attacks, Malaysian extremist Noordin Mohammad Top, is still at large.
Family defiant as Indonesia awaits bombers' execution
<cite class="auth">AFP - Saturday, November 1
</cite>TENGGULUN, Indonesia (AFP) - - The family of two Islamist militants awaiting execution for the Bali bombings which killed 202 people said Saturday paradise awaited them after the firing squads.
<!--Vendor: Yahoo, Format: Standard --><script language="javascript"> if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['_dltVXxseNI-']='&U=13fug1kef%2fN%3d_dltVXxseNI-%2fC%3d707048.13076240.13278274.2013436%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d5539901%2fV%3d1'; </script><noscript>
</noscript>Muhammad Chozin, the 52-year-old elder brother of condemned jihadists Amrozi and Mukhlas, told AFP in the bombers' home village the family saw the looming execution as "good news". "The family don't feel burdened by the execution, in fact we're happy because it means God and the prophet have given good news," Chozin said in the Islamic boarding school he runs in this small East Java coastal village. "If they die because they are standing up for the religion they will be placed in paradise," he said. Authorities have said the brothers and fellow bomber Imam Samudra could face the firing squad any time from Saturday until mid-November over the 2002 attack against Western tourists on the holiday island.
A source in the Nusakambangan island prison where the bombers are being held said they had been placed in isolation and notification had been delivered late Friday clearing the way for the execution to go ahead. Chozin said that although he supported his brothers he would discourage other family members from following their path of violence. "If I find out then I will tell them the bigger priority in jihad (holy war) is education. If they have faith that their way or their (violent) action is correct, that is their right, I won't blame them," he said. "The family isn't angry with the brothers, we don't want to meddle in their affairs. If they totally believe in their cause, then why not?" The 70-year-old mother of the two bombers said on Friday night her sons were right to "kill infidels". "I don't cry. I leave it all to God," Tariem said after returning from praying at the mosque. "I feel that killing infidels isn't a mistake because they don't pray," she said, sitting on the stone floor of the family home surrounded by Amrozi's children and wife.
Hordes of journalists and camera crews have descended on the sleepy village of wooden houses and fields of maize and rice to wait out the executions, which are the first under Indonesia's anti-terror laws. An empty field in a neighbouring village a short motorcycle ride away from Tariem's home has been set aside as a makeshift helipad, apparently to receive the bombers' bodies. Villagers said the freshly painted "H" marking the clearing between rows of corn had appeared some time overnight or early in the morning. Police said helicopters have been readied to carry the bombers' bodies home after they are executed, probably in the prison grounds on the other side of Java island. Lawyers for the bombers have launched a string of appeals to delay the death sentences being carried out, and said Saturday they would launch a fresh, unspecified, legal bid to save the bombers' lives. Family members of all three bombers and their lawyers have flown to Jakarta and will later go to Bali to present an "extraordinary" appeal to the Bali court that convicted them, lawyer Fahmi Bachmid told AFP. Bachmid refused to specify what kind of legal appeal the lawyers would make. Indonesian authorities and the Supreme Court have said the bombers have exhausted all avenues for appeal, except for seeking presidential clemency.
The U.S. and Australian embassies in Indonesia received bomb threats ahead of the imminent execution of the Bali bombers.»'Hundreds will avenge them'
Embassies threatened as Indonesia awaits executions
<cite class="auth">AFP - Tuesday, November 4
</cite>JAKARTA (AFP) - - The US and Australian embassies in Indonesia received bomb threats Tuesday as tensions rose ahead of the imminent execution of three Islamists convicted over the Bali bombings.
<!--Vendor: Yahoo, Format: Standard --><script language="javascript"> if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['pNttVXxseNI-']='&U=13fimqt8d%2fN%3dpNttVXxseNI-%2fC%3d707048.13076240.13278274.2013436%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d5539901%2fV%3d1'; </script><noscript>
An Australian foreign affairs department spokesman said: "Threats of this nature are not unexpected under the circumstances." Security has been boosted across the mainly Muslim archipelago amid fears of reprisal attacks by Islamic militants following the executions. Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas, 48, and Imam Samudra, 38, are expected to be executed by firing squad this week. The 2002 attacks targeted nightspots packed with Western tourists, killing 202 people including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians. The bombers said the attacks were revenge for US aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Australia has warned citizens against travel to Indonesia, and the United States -- which lost seven nationals in the attack -- has warned Americans in the country to "maintain a low profile." About 30 emotional supporters arrived at Mukhlas and Amrozi's home village of Tenggulun, east Java, around dawn Monday and denounced the executions as "murder" in emotional speeches at an Islamic boarding school. "There are hundreds of us waiting to come... If Amrozi is executed a thousand more will come," said Abdulrahim, a member of the group led by radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
Bashir is one of the founders of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror network, which is blamed for the Bali bombings and other attacks across Southeast Asia. Other supporters wore balaclavas and gave shouted speeches vowing destruction for the United States, its regional ally Australia and Israel. A brother of the condemned men, Jafar Shoddiq, made an emotional appeal for support from Muslims everywhere. "All Muslims besides those who support us will come without being invited," he said, before shouting: "Raise your voice... raise your voice to prevent disaster from God."
Mujazzin Marzuki, a leader of Bashir's group, said: "We reject the executions, they are murder." The bombers have failed with each of their appeals against the death sentence, including a last-minute petition filed on Monday. Anti-death penalty campaigners have complained that the three men were convicted and sentenced under a 2003 anti-terror law that was applied retroactively. Indonesians generally practise a moderate version of Islam but a fanatical fringe led by Jemaah Islamiyah has waged jihad, or holy war, for many years in a bid to bring about a regional Islamic caliphate.
The Bali attacks were the bloodiest in a sustained period of Al-Qaeda-inspired jihadist violence in the world's most populous Muslim country. Bombings at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003, the Australian embassy in 2004 and Bali again in 2005, among others, killed scores of people. The alleged mastermind of the Bali bombings and subsequent attacks, Malaysian extremist Noordin Mohammad Top, is still at large.
Family defiant as Indonesia awaits bombers' execution
<cite class="auth">AFP - Saturday, November 1
</cite>TENGGULUN, Indonesia (AFP) - - The family of two Islamist militants awaiting execution for the Bali bombings which killed 202 people said Saturday paradise awaited them after the firing squads.
<!--Vendor: Yahoo, Format: Standard --><script language="javascript"> if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['_dltVXxseNI-']='&U=13fug1kef%2fN%3d_dltVXxseNI-%2fC%3d707048.13076240.13278274.2013436%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d5539901%2fV%3d1'; </script><noscript>
A source in the Nusakambangan island prison where the bombers are being held said they had been placed in isolation and notification had been delivered late Friday clearing the way for the execution to go ahead. Chozin said that although he supported his brothers he would discourage other family members from following their path of violence. "If I find out then I will tell them the bigger priority in jihad (holy war) is education. If they have faith that their way or their (violent) action is correct, that is their right, I won't blame them," he said. "The family isn't angry with the brothers, we don't want to meddle in their affairs. If they totally believe in their cause, then why not?" The 70-year-old mother of the two bombers said on Friday night her sons were right to "kill infidels". "I don't cry. I leave it all to God," Tariem said after returning from praying at the mosque. "I feel that killing infidels isn't a mistake because they don't pray," she said, sitting on the stone floor of the family home surrounded by Amrozi's children and wife.
Hordes of journalists and camera crews have descended on the sleepy village of wooden houses and fields of maize and rice to wait out the executions, which are the first under Indonesia's anti-terror laws. An empty field in a neighbouring village a short motorcycle ride away from Tariem's home has been set aside as a makeshift helipad, apparently to receive the bombers' bodies. Villagers said the freshly painted "H" marking the clearing between rows of corn had appeared some time overnight or early in the morning. Police said helicopters have been readied to carry the bombers' bodies home after they are executed, probably in the prison grounds on the other side of Java island. Lawyers for the bombers have launched a string of appeals to delay the death sentences being carried out, and said Saturday they would launch a fresh, unspecified, legal bid to save the bombers' lives. Family members of all three bombers and their lawyers have flown to Jakarta and will later go to Bali to present an "extraordinary" appeal to the Bali court that convicted them, lawyer Fahmi Bachmid told AFP. Bachmid refused to specify what kind of legal appeal the lawyers would make. Indonesian authorities and the Supreme Court have said the bombers have exhausted all avenues for appeal, except for seeking presidential clemency.
