US, Aus embassies threatened
2008-11-04 13:12
Jakarta - The US and Australian embassies in Indonesia received bomb threats on Tuesday as tensions rose ahead of the imminent execution of three Islamists convicted over the Bali bombings.
A US embassy spokesperson said the threat had been 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 phone 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 spokesperson Abubakar Nataprawira said.
An Australian foreign affairs department spokesperson 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 US - which lost seven nationals in the attack - has warned Americans in the country to "maintain a low profile".
Appeal for support
About 30 Islamic radicals arrived at Mukhlas and Amrozi's home village of Tenggulun, east Java, around dawn on Monday and denounced the executions as "murder".
"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 shouted threats against the US, its regional ally Australia and Israel. "Free Amrozi, destroy America!" they chanted.
A brother of the condemned men, Jafar Shodiq, 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."
The bombers have failed with each of their appeals against the death sentence, including a last-minute petition filed on Monday.
A lawyer for the condemned men said their families were still waiting for permission from the attorney general's office to visit them in prison before they die.
Anti-death penalty campaigners have complained that the bombers were convicted under a 2003 anti-terror law that was applied retroactively.
The Bali attacks were the bloodiest in a sustained period of al-Qaeda-inspired jihadist violence in the world's most populous Muslim country.