Posted on 11/02/2002 1:14:30 PM PST by knighthawk
INDONESIAN police yesterday began questioning militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir over a series of church bombings and an alleged plot to kill President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
A police official in charge of the investigation said Bashir, the alleged leader of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network that has been blamed for the Bali bombing, was being questioned at a police hospital in Jakarta where he was taken on Monday.
Irfan Awwas, one of Bashir's aides, quoted the 64-year-old cleric as saying: "I am ready for questioning – they can even take me to court now."
Police investigation chief Jeldy Ramadhan said police had 50 questions to ask Bashir, and the questioning could take several days.
"We have received a report from the police medical team which says Bashir is in good health," Mr Ramadhan said.
Police have had to wait more than two weeks to question Bashir because of a range of ailments, including heart and respiratory problems and, more recently, a sore throat.
Separately, police denied reports that they had arrested an Indonesian man on the eastern island of Flores over the Bali bombings.
"We have not arrested anyone yet . . . although many reports from the media said we have," Edward Aritonang, spokesman for the joint police investigation team, said.
Mr Aritonang said police were questioning at least 10 people over the blasts.
The developments in Bali came as NSW Premier Bob Carr issued a grim warning that Australia must prepare for terrorist attacks and implement security precautions that could cause longer queues and higher prices at big events.
"We've got to act as if it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when, we are attacked," Mr Carr told The Sunday Telegraph.
"There does need to be a higher level of security. I think we realise a terrorist hit could come our way."
Mr Carr said people would have to come to terms with waiting longer in queues outside large events, or paying more for things such as football matches to cover the cost of security.
"It may be the case that people need to get to places earlier to go through security. We've simply got to do it."
The US advised yesterday that it feared a repeat of the Bali bomb attack in another part of south-east Asia, with tourists targeted again.
The first big event to be affected by heightened security measures in Australia is Tuesday's Melbourne Cup, with record security imposed at Flemington and Royal Randwick set to become standard practice.
Almost 1000 police and security guards will mingle with the crowd at Flemington, while Royal Randwick will be checked by bomb-detection dogs during its first race-day security lockdown.
Rubbish bins have been removed indefinitely from Sydney's underground railway stations as part of the State Government's security upgrades in the wake of the Bali terrorist bombing.
Security consultant Myles Newlove said Australians needed to realise the carefree days were over.
"Your daily life that you once lived is going to change," said Mr Newlove, managing director of the Aurora Intelligence Group, which advises businesses on security and anti-terrorism measures.
"If you're going to a football match or a rock concert, tickets to those events will rise because service providers can't absorb the cost of the extra security."
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