Bali bombers 'obeyed' Osama

2004-04-02 10:23

Kuala Lumpur - The Bali bombers believed they were acting on the wishes of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden when they killed more than 200 people on Indonesia's tourist island in October 2002, a repentant Malaysian militant said.

Bin Laden's call for Muslims to kill Americans was passed on to members of Southeast Asia's Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network by two of its leaders, Hambali and Abu Bakar Bashir, Mohamed Nasir Abas told private television station TV3 in an exclusive interview.

"Both Hambali and Abu Bakar Bashir issued the fatwa (religious edict) from Osama bin Laden which says all Muslims must defend themselves and take vengeance for the actions of Americans, because they have wronged, or killed civillians everywhere," he said.

Hambali is now in US custody after being arrested in Thailand last year, while Abu Bakar Bashir is to be released from a Jakarta prison on April 30 after the supreme court halved a three-year sentence for immigration offences and document forgery.

A security ministry official has said the cleric may be tried again if new evidence emerges linking him to terror attacks.

Killing Americans anywhere

Mohamed Nasir, who is under arrest in Indonesia, told TV3 the fatwa meant "we can act by killing American civilians anywhere.

"Whether they are armed or unarmed, soldiers or civilians. Whether they are women, the elderly or children. That is the nature of the fatwa. And this was issued to all JI members," Mohamed Nasir said.

"Those who believed in the fatwa carried out bombings, like Hambali, Mukhlas, based on the fatwa. They organised bombings in churches, and the Bali bombing (was carried out) to take revenge on America."

Young foreign holidaymakers, including 88 Australians, accounted for most of the dead in the attack on two crowded night-spots in Bali, but 38 Indonesians also died.

Courts in Bali have sentenced three people to death for the bombings and another 30 to jail terms.

Mohamed Nasir, 34, was allegedly the JI leader who oversaw operations in Brunei, Malaysia, southern Philippines and Kalimantan in Indonesia. He is the brother-in-law of Mukhlas, who is one of those sentenced to death.

Mohamed Nasir and three other alleged Malaysian militants under arrest in Indonesia were interviewed by TV3 earlier this month. The station aired a press preview of the programme entitled "Confessions of JI Members" ahead of broadcast on Friday night.

The four - Mohamed Nasir, Amran Mansor, 39, Jaafar Anwarul, 53, and Shamsul Bahri Hussein, 37 - all confessed to their involvement with JI. They said they were remorseful and now rejected the network and its teachings as they went against Islam.

"We saw what happened when they bombed churches, bombed Bali and the Marriott hotel (in Jakarta last year). The victims were innocent civillians and Muslims themselves," Nasir said.

Peaceful and loving

"I am disappointed with what has happened, the Bali and Marriot bombings. What is being taught by JI is wrong, because Islam at its very core is a peaceful and loving religion," a teary-eyed Shamsul Bahri said.

"I never imagined this would happen, the bombings which involved my own friends who joined JI," he said.

Shamsul Bahri, who studied robotics and once lectured in mechanical engineering at a Malaysian university, said he helped recruit some of his students, including explosives expert Noordin Mohammad Top.

Some of his fellow lecturers including British-trained engineer Azahari Husin, now sought by police for the Bali bombings, were also involved in JI, he said.

Amran told TV3 he was in charge of logistics and sourcing funds, and that he was trained to make bombs along with Azahari.

I was confused

"I now realise I was confused when I joined JI," Amran said.

"I started thinking, is this what Islam teaches you, to place bombs, run and watch women and children die? It was wrong for me to have obeyed (JI) orders," he said.

Jaafar told TV3 he provided JI with land to set up a school in Malaysia's southern Johor state which became its training ground for budding militants. Mukhlas was a teacher at the school known as Luqmanul Hakiem.

"I didn't realise it at first. But sometimes the teachers there would speak of 'jihad' and talk about the war in Afghanistan, about Osama bin Laden. So the students would be influenced by this," Jaafar said.

- AFP