There is growing anger against the terrorists in Bali
Posted on 10/11/2005 8:30:04 AM PDT by Sweetjustusnow
BALI, Indonesia
Investigators have arrested a man who shared a rented house with the Bali suicide bombers in what could be the first major breakthrough in this month's deadly attacks on three crowded restaurants, police said Tuesday.
The arrest Sunday of a 45-year-old construction worker, identified only as Hasan, was the first since the Oct. 1 attacks that killed 23 people, including the bombers.
The man had been living with the three bombers on the outskirts of the Bali capital Denpasar for about a month, but disappeared days before the blasts, said national police spokesman Brig. Gen. Sunarko Artanto.
"We strongly suspect he is linked to the Bali bombing," Sunarko said.
Authorities tracked the man down in Jember, a town in neighboring East Java province about 125 miles west of Denpasar. He was sent back to Bali on Monday, a day after the arrest, for questioning, said Capt. Wahyu Wim Hardjanto, the chief detective in Jember.
Police also said they were questioning two men from the island of Lombok, whose identification cards were found near one of the bomb sites, according to local media reports. A third man was picked up for questioning Sunday in the North Sulawesi city of Gorontalo, Police Chief Lt. Col. Arison Hendra said.
Investigators found the severed heads of the three suicide bombers at the sites of the attacks and widely publicized the grisly pictures in hopes of identifying them and anyone who had helped them.
Police received a tip that four men _ including the three suicide bombers _ had rented a house in a middle-class neighborhood just miles from the bomb sites. Residents confirmed that with The Associated Press.
A woman who lived in the same one-story home told the AP she saw two of attackers the morning the restaurants on Jimbaran beach and nearby Kuta _ packed with tourists on the busiest night of the week _ were bombed.
"They were about to leave and I asked them 'Where are you going?'" said Sulastari, a 48-year-old tailor. "Sanur," one responded, referring to another popular tourist area near Jimbaran beach.
The arrested man's 42-year-old wife, Tuti, told the AP her husband had been living for some time in Bali, but frequently returned home. He last visited on Sept. 28 _ three days before the bombings _ to pay respects at his parents' graves prior to the holy month of Ramadan, Tuti said.
"Five police came here at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, and took him to the Jember police station," she said. "They returned with my husband after midnight. He just came to pick up his clothes and say farewell."
Residents expressed shock at his arrest, saying he had no known connection to radical militants. Tuti said her husband worked in Malaysia in early 1990s, but was deported after about 14 months for working illegally.
More than 259 witnesses have been questioned since the attacks, police said. Police detained and questioned several men days after the attack but they were later released on the belief they had no connection to the case.
Sulastari, the woman who shared the home with the bombers, said the four men moved into the house around Sept. 8, and mostly kept to themselves. Two went out every day at 10 a.m., returning in the evening, she said. The others stayed in their room.
"One was always dressed in black," she said. "He always wore the same clothes."
The house was cordoned off Tuesday.
Under Indonesia's anti-terror law, the father of three can be held for up to seven days before charges are filed, Sunarko said.
The al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for three other terrorist attacks since 2002 in Indonesia, is believed to be involved in the triple suicide bombings.
Rumors have swirled for days that police were close to arresting the suspected masterminds and Southeast Asia's most-sought fugitives _ Malaysians Noordin Mohamed Top and Azahari bin Husin. But so far the two alleged leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah remain on the run.
At least 10 people at Manega Cafe, one of the bombed restaurants, said a suspicious man was seen examining the area on the morning of the explosions, said Col. Bambang Kuncoko, another police spokesman.
Eleven witnesses at another targeted cafe said they thought one of the alleged bombers once lived in a rented house in Denpasar, he said.
Certainly the people of Bali can see the simplest path to peace is to submit. (sarcasm) I wonder how the 500 firecracker shot across the bow has affected Bangladeshi politics as well. These people in Bali and Bangladesh as utterly peaceful and docile. Tis a shame to see them bullied around by a religion that seeks to take real estate along with minds.
They were probably White Aussie Anglicans. (sarcasm off)
Indeed the local part of the tragedy is that the non-islamic and peacefull people of Bali pay a huge price because of the vilence of the "foeigners". The Balinese get so little from the Jakarta government in coomparison to what the tourism contributes to Indonesia. Yet, it is the Balinese people who will suffer as they lose their livelihood, yet again.
ping...
Thank you for the ping..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.