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Southeast Asia

House arrest ruled out for Indonesia’s ailing radical cleric

2018-03-06

[ARABNEWS] Indonesia’s Ministry of Justice and Human Rights said holy man Abu Bakar Bashir ... Leader of the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council and proprietor of the al-Mukmin madrassah in Ngruki. The spriritual head of Jemaah Islamiya, which he denies exists. Bashir was jugged and then released in the wake of the 2002 Bali bombings, which he blamed on a conspiracy among the U.S., Israel, and Australia ... is ineligible for house arrest, one of the options the government said it was considering as leniency to the ailing holy man. "House arrest is only available for a defendant who is standing trial, while he (Bashir) is no longer a defendant. He is a prisoner, convicted to serve time in prison," Ade Kusmanto, a front man for the ministry’s Directorate General of Correction, told Arab News. Last week, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told journalists at the state palace that house arrest for the holy man is very likely, as the government is weighing up which form of clemency it could give to Bashir. The holy man suffers from pooling of blood on his legs, a condition which requires him to undergo regular medical check-ups. On Mar. 1, Bashir was taken to a hospital in Jakarta for treatment which his lawyer, Achmad Michdan, said had been scheduled for Nov. 2017. President Joko Widodo said the government gave permission for Bashir to go to the hospital on humanitarian grounds. Kusmanto said the holy man can ask the president for clemency, given that he is in poor health and will become an octogenarian this year. Another possibility is to demand parole, for which he will be eligible in June 2019 when he will have served two-thirds of his 15-year prison sentence. Talking to Arab News, Michdan said his client rules out both the options since applying for either one would mean that Bashir pleads guilty to the charges against him. Bashir was convicted in 2011 for supporting paramilitary training in Aceh, and the firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... holy man is described as the ideological icon of Jamaah Islamia (JI), including those who carried out kabooms in Bali in 2003. "Bashir believes he is innocent because he was merely observing his faith as a Moslem. He was collecting money to fund training and travel for those who wanted to go as mujahideen to Paleostine. He wasn’t rebelling against the country," Michdan said. Michdan said that it should be possible for the government to "relocate the place" where Bashir serves his sentence from Gunung Sindur prison in Bogor, West Java, to his house in Solo, Central Java. He cited examples of tossed in the calaboose Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! former Jakarta governor Basuki TjaHajja Purnama, who is serving his two-year sentence for blasphemy at a special police detention instead of a correctional facility, and East Timor resistance fighter Xanana Gusmao who had been imprisoned in Jakarta when he was fighting for East Timor’s independence from Indonesia. He was then confined to a house in Central Jakarta in 1999.

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Southeast Asia

Indonesia concedes East Timor abuses

2008-07-16

Indonesia and East Timor expressed deep regret yesterday for violence surrounding Dili's 1999 independence vote after a joint probe blamed state institutions for "gross human rights violations". The report by the Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) blamed Indonesian security forces for the mayhem, although Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stopped short of an apology. The two governments set up the CTF in 2005 to look into the violence, during which the UN estimates more than 1,000 East Timorese died, but it has no power to prosecute, prompting criticism that it serves to whitewash atrocities. It has been boycotted by the UN. The statement expressing regret came after the truth commission submitted its report on the violence to Yudhoyono, East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta and East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in Bali. Indonesian security and civilian forces had a major role in systematic, widespread "gross human rights violations", while a small number of East Timor's pro-independence groups also played minor parts in the violence, the report said.

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Southeast Asia

E Timor head makes public speech

2008-03-15

East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta has spoken publicly for the first time since he was shot and seriously injured in a rebel attack last month. The president was shot outside his home in the capital, Dili, on 11 February. The rebels - a group of former soldiers - also attacked Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao but he escaped uninjured. Mr Ramos-Horta was flown to northern Australia hours after the shooting to undergo emergency surgery. Since then he has been making a slow but steady recovery. Speaking from hospital in Darwin, Mr Ramos-Horta said he would not make any political comment but thanked all those involved in his recovery. "Today is the first time I am able to speak publicly, although I am refraining from making a political speech," he said. "I wish to use this opportunity to thank all who prayed for me, who looked after me, who cared for me, following the assassination attempt on me." He paid tribute to the Australian government, which sent more peacekeepers to East Timor in the immediate aftermath of the attack. He also thanked Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who visited East Timor days in the aftermath of the shootings in a show of support for the troubled nation. Mr Ramos-Horta is expected to remain in hospital for at least another week, doctors said.

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Southeast Asia

East Timor president "begins to recover" after assassination attempt

2008-02-22

East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta was slowly being returned to consciousness by doctors who have kept him sedated since he was shot in an assassination attempt last week, a spokesman said Thursday. Ramos-Horta has undergone surgery five times since the Feb. 11 shooting in Dili, the East Timorese capital, and has been heavily sedated at a hospital in northern Australia to help him stay still and avoid pain. Doctors are pleased with the progress of his recovery, and were allowing him to regain consciousness, said Luke Gosling, a Ramos-Horta aide who is with him in Darwin. "He is slowly waking up," said Gosling. "He has started saying a few words to close family." Suspected rebels shot Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, near his home on Feb. 11. An hour later, gunmen attacked Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped unhurt.

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Sri Lanka

East Timor launches operation against rebels

2008-02-16

DILI (Reuters) - East Timor's military and international forces have launched an operation against rebels hiding in hills near the capital following an assassination attempt on the country's president, the military chief said on Saturday. Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, 58, is recovering in hospital in Australia after being shot and critically wounded at his home in Dili on Monday in an attack by rebel soldiers. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped injury in another shooting, also believed to have been carried out by followers of rebel leader Alfredo Reinado who was killed during the attack on Ramos-Horta. "We know that residents are hiding them (rebels). We call on the people to stop protecting them because by doing so they put their lives at risk," East Timor's military chief, Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, told a news conference. "We call on the people to contribute to a peaceful solution to the problem. For two years they supported Alfredo, but what have they got?" Gun sex? Ruak said security forces were questioning more than 30 people in relation to the attacks and would start going to people's houses to look for the rebels.

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Down Under

Aussie soldiers hunt East Timor rebels

2008-02-14

Australian-led troops have begun hunting for rebel soldiers believed to be behind attacks on East Timor's two top leaders. Soldiers backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles searched through jungle outside the capital, Dili, for suspects in Monday's twin shootings. President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot three times, while PM Xanana Gusmao escaped unhurt from a separate attack. Mr Ramos-Horta is in a serious but stable condition in a Darwin hospital. A state of emergency remains in place in the country and security is very tight, with UN peacekeepers maintaining a heavy presence. The UN force has been in East Timor since a wave of street violence in mid-2006. A group of rebel soldiers with grievances dating back to that unrest are thought to have carried out Monday's attacks. On Thursday, police were deployed to the home of rebel leader Alfredo Reinado, who was killed in the early-morning gun fight at Mr Ramos-Horta's residence. Supporters crowded into his home after his body was brought there for burial. Reinado, a former military officer, had been on the run with a group of followers since the unrest almost two years ago. He was accused of being involved in several shooting incidents during the violence and charged with murder. It is his armed followers that the Australian-led troops are now seeking out in the hills behind Dili. Eighteen arrest warrants have been issued and more are being prepared, officials said. On Friday, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is to visit East Timor to hold talks with Mr Gusmao. Australia despatched additional troops to East Timor hours after Monday's attacks, in a bid to ensure stability in the fledgling nation.

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Southeast Asia

Australian troops land to boost East Timor security

2008-02-12

By Ahmad Pathoni DILI (Rooters) - Australian troops began arriving in East Timor on Tuesday to help enforce a state of emergency after the tiny nation's president was critically wounded in a double assassination attempt and flown to Darwin for treatment. An Australian warship also arrived off the Dili coast on Tuesday to support the first of 200 fast reaction troops sent to reinforce international security forces as doctors said President Jose Ramos-Horta would remain on life support until next week. The United Nations said 11 people had been questioned over Monday's attack, in which a rebel soldier leader was also killed, and that international security forces had responded swiftly. "Investigations will be extensive and ongoing but we are expecting to give the first progress report to the prosecutor-general this afternoon or tomorrow morning," Finn Reske-Nielsen, acting U.N. mission chief, told a news conference. In the northern Australian city of Darwin, where Ramos-Horta was airlifted with gunshot wounds in the chest, back and stomach, doctors said they planned more surgery. "His condition remains extremely serious, but, by the same token, stable," Royal Darwin Hospital general manager Len Notaras told reporters, adding the president would need more surgery in the next 24-36 hours. "He will be in an induced coma until at least Thursday, intensive care until Sunday or Monday of next week," he said. REINFORCEMENTS Two planes, carrying a total of 120 Australian soldiers and equipment, landed late on Tuesday afternoon. In the capital Dili, East Timor's interim president Vicente Guterres declared a state of emergency and appealed for calm, after apparently coordinated attacks against the president and prime minister threw the young nation into a fresh crisis. Around 1,600 U.N. police, backed by about 1,000 Australian soldiers, were patrolling Dili and other cities amid fears of fresh violence by rebel soldiers, whose leader Alfredo Reinado was killed in the surprise early morning assault. "The government of East Timor is in firm control," said Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, ahead of a visit to the troubled nation later this week. The commander of East Timor's military, Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, called for an investigation into Monday's attacks and questioned the role of international forces. "There has been a lack of capacity shown by the international forces who have primary responsibility for the security within Timor Leste (East Timor)," he told a news conference. He also urged the public and media to persuade Reinado's followers, who had fled into the jungle, to return for talks. Indonesia's military had increased border patrols to ensure rebels did not try to flee, Antara state news agency reported. The commander of international troops in East Timor said separately that Ramos-Horta had opted to use local guards. "Unless we had information that led to the time and the place the attack would occur, there was not a great deal that could have been done about it," said Brigadier James Baker. Schools, businesses and government institutions were open in Dili, as local police stopped and checked cars, but the calm appeared uneasy and residents admitted they were nervous. Meetings and protests are banned under the emergency, and all citizens must stay home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Ramos-Horta, 58, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for waging a non-violent struggle for independence, was shot at his home early on Monday by renegade soldiers. Reinado and another rebel soldier died in the shoot-out, which the East Timor government said was a coup attempt. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped a similar attack that left his car riddled with bullets. Asia's youngest nation has been unable to achieve stability since hard-won independence. The army tore apart along regional lines in 2006, triggering factional violence that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes. Foreign troops were needed to restore order. Reinado had led a revolt against the government and was charged with murder during the 2006 factional violence, although later that year he escaped jail with 50 other inmates, embarrassing security forces. The former Portuguese colony of about a 1 million people gained full independence in 2002 after a U.N.-sponsored vote in 1999, marred by violence, ended more than two decades of brutal Indonesian occupation. The predominantly Roman Catholic nation, though one of Asia's poorest countries, is strategically important for Australia and Indonesia, and has potentially lucrative energy reserves.

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Southeast Asia

East Timor leader in critical condition

2008-02-11

OK, time for me to expand my sphere of attention. Can anyone provide a quick description of what this sttupid rebellion is all about? Are the "rebels" Christians or Lutherans? Is East Timor to Indonesia as Taiwan is to China? Wikipedia entry here. And the BBC's overview is succinct and informative. Quick summary: East Timor is heavily Roman Catholic, got independence in 2002 despite militias that wanted them to be part of Indonesia. Poor country, large oil/natural gas deposits just off the coast. Rebel soldiers shot and critically wounded East Timor's president and opened fire on the prime minister Monday in a failed coup attempt in the recently independent nation. A top rebel leader was killed during one of the attacks. President Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace laureate, was injured in the stomach. He was flown to a hospital in Australia in an induced coma, breathing through a ventilator, a spokesman for the company that airlifted him out of East Timor said. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped an attack on his motorcade unhurt. Army spokesman Maj. Domingos da Camara said rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and one of his men were killed in the attack on the home of Ramos-Horta, while one of the president's guards also died. "I consider this incident a coup attempt against the state by Reinado and it failed," Gusmao said. He called it a well-planned operation intended to "paralyze the government and create instability."

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Down Under

Australian Forces hunting East Timor Rebel leader

2007-03-04

A MANHUNT is under way in mountainous East Timor for rebel leader Alfredo Reinado, who escaped a clash with Australian forces early today. Four of the fugitive's supporters were killed after Australian troops attacked his stronghold in the town of Same, south of Dili, in a pre-dawn raid. However, Reinado escaped and had fled into the mountains, Australian Brigadier General Mal Rerden said. A massive search involving helicopters, road blocks and vehicle and foot patrols was under way this evening. Australian troops had been locked in a tense stand-off with the rebel leader and his supporters for most of the week, after Reinado stole a large haul of automatic weapons from East Timor police posts last weekend. The troops had made several demands he surrender or face the consequences, prior to the assault on his hideout which was launched around 2am local time (4am AEDT) and continued for two hours, without casualties on the Australian side. Brigadier Rerden, who heads the international forces in East Timor, vowed to continue hunting the rebel leader until he was in custody. "The purpose of the operation was to reduce the risk to Timor-Leste's stability and to apprehend Alfredo Reinado and his associates," he said. "At this stage we have not apprehended him. The operation will continue until such time as we do. "We can't confirm at this stage if he was alone or accompanied by others when he left Same. "Nor can we confirm which members of his group are armed." One of the renegade soldier's men told the wire service AFP he was no longer in touch with Reinado. "We have lost contact with Major Reinado since yesterday evening when we had clashed with the Australian troops," he said. "They attacked us first at around 2am. They fired tear gas and flares to light the area." Brigadier Rerden confirmed shots were fired during the operation, but said the full details were yet to be confirmed. "The ISF (International Security Force) are currently conducting searches that include helicopter, road blocks, and vehicle and foot patrols. "I can confirm that ISF has been augmented by some additional forces from Australia. "However, I will not at this stage provide further details about these forces for operational reasons." He labelled the operation a success, despite the escape of Reinado. "The situation in Same is peaceful now. "The threat of Reinado and his men has been removed from Same. "Reinado has now been reduced to foot and is a fugitive. "There's still an opportunity for Reinado to surrender." It's understood a number of people were captured in the raids, but it was unknown whether there were any injuries other than the four deceased. Earlier today, President Xanana Gusmao announced Reinado's escape, saying: "If he surrenders, the country will treat him well." East Timor had asked for Australia's help to capture Reinado. There are fears any explosion in violence could derail East Timor's presidential elections, set for April 9. But Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said: "I've no reason to believe that they (the elections) will not go ahead." He would not be drawn on whether the escape of Reinado was embarrassing to the Australian defence forces. "Let's make an evaluation of the operation when it's complete," he said. He described today's operation as a "difficult situation" and called for the fugitive to hand himself in. "You can't have a situation where in the face of the strongly expressed preference of the prime minister (of East Timor) ... a renegade former military officer is able to raid police stations, take weapons from police stations, which he's done. "Obviously they will endeavour to capture him alive but the best advice I can give Major Reinado is to surrender. "He can hide in a jungle for only so long." Reinado is wanted for leading a band of breakaway soldiers last April and May, when battles between security factions degenerated into rampant gang violence in East Timor. He has been on the run since leading a mass breakout from Dili's prison last August.

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Down Under

E Timor rebel urged to surrender

2007-03-01

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has urged a rebel leader in East Timor to surrender to the authorities. Australian troops are closing in on Major Alfredo Reinado and his men at their hideout in Same, 50km (30 miles) south of the capital Dili. Maj Reinado said he might negotiate, but added that he would rather die than be made to surrender by force. Hokay, that works for us. The Timorese authorities are pursuing Maj Reinado for his role in clashes with government forces last May. He was jailed over his role in the unrest, but escaped in a mass breakout from a Dili prison last August. "It's of concern to us that Reinado is still on the loose, and I think he, appropriately, should surrender himself to the East Timorese authorities," Mr Downer told reporters on Thursday. Local UN head Atul Khare also told the Associated Press that he wanted Maj Reinado to hand himself in. Earlier this week East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao said he had authorised Australian-led international forces to track down Reinado, and he accused the rebel soldier of leading a raid on a police post over the weekend. There are signals that Reinado may be prepared to negotiate with the authorities. "He has sent a message to the general prosecutor and presidential staff... that this current situation be settled through dialogue and negotiations," East Timor lawmaker Leandro Isaac, who is with Reinado, told the French news agency AFP by telephone. But he added that Maj Reinado was still vowing to fight to the death if necessary. Brigadier General Mal Rerden, the Australian in charge of the international peacekeeping force in East Timor, told reporters that it was up to Reinado what happened next. "If he cares about the people of Timor-Leste, if he cares about the people with him now, he would give up his weapons and surrender," he said. "Anything that happens from now on is his responsibility."

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Southeast Asia

East Timor prepares for new government

2006-07-13

Which looks very much like the old government ... DILI - East Timor prepared on Wednesday for the swearing-in of a new government as the tiny nation looked for a return to political order after deadly violence in May left it in disarray. The new cabinet is to meet later the same day to discuss the 2006-7 budget. The last financial year ended on June 30 and lawmakers had already drafted a 315 million dollar budget -- the nation’s largest ever -- before Mari Alkatiri stepped down as premier last month. Ahead of Wednesday’s ceremony, President Xanana Gusmao met with political parties to discuss the agenda for the new government. Opposition lawmaker Antonius Ximenes said they also discussed the rebel troops, known as “petitioners”, whose desertion and subsequent sacking originally sparked the unrest, as well as a range of issues. “We have opinions about important issues such as the 2006-2007 budget, the election laws, the case of the petitioners, and how to look after the refugees,” Ximenes told reporters after the meeting. He said all of East Timor’s political leaders should accept responsibility for the failure to deal with the rebels. “The problem with the petitioners occured because of our arrogance,” Ximenes conceded. That twitched the surprise meter ... Ahead of the meeting, Fernando de Araujo, leader of the Democratic Party, the largest of the opposition parties, had said he would warn Gusmao that his lawmakers did not want a cabinet dominated by Alkatiri’s ruling Fretilin party. Ramos-Horta has said the new government would not be substantially different from the outgoing administration. Fretilin holds 55 of the 88 seats in the parliament.

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Southeast Asia

Ramos-Horta named as East Timor's new PM

2006-07-09

DILI: Nobel prize-winner Jose Ramos-Horta has been named as East Timor's new prime minister, President Xanana Gusmao announced Saturday, ending weeks of political uncertainty in the nation. The premier's position was left empty last month when Mari Alkatiri resigned. "We have agreed to declare as prime minister Jose Ramos-Horta, first deputy prime minister Estanislau da Silva and second deputy prime minister Rui Araujo," Gusmao said after meeting with leaders from the ruling party. Da Silva is currently agriculture minister while Araujo is health minister. Ramos-Horta, who was East Timor's international face during its years of fighting Indonesia's occupation and won the 1996 Nobel peace prize for his efforts, was foreign and defence minister in Alkatiri's government. He is not a member of the decades-old Fretilin party but helped found it.

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