Posted on 08/27/2003 11:15:53 AM PDT by Nexus
Bali bomber thanks anti-war protesters By Cindy Wockner in Denpasar August 27, 2003
THE man who helped mix the deadly one-tonne Bali nightclub bomb Sawad, alias Sardjiyo, yesterday said he wanted to thank the Australian people who had supported his cause during recent Australian anti-Gulf War protests.
And fellow bomb-mixer Abdul Ghoni urged Australians against forming friendly alliances with America.
The pronouncements of the two Bali bombing suspects came as they and the evidence against them was handed from Bali police to prosecutors.
"I want to thank the Australian people who supported our cause when they demonstrated against the policies of George Bush. Say thank you to all of them," Sawad said.
Ironically, from a terrorist accused not only of the Bali bombing but of church bombings and the bombing of an ambassador's residence in Jakarta, Sawad claimed he had a message of peace for the world.
"For all human beings to stop now in this world, destroy all of the destructive weapons . . . if there were no weapons then peace can be created," he said.
Terrorism, he said, was a reciprocal action.
Terrorist cohort Ghoni had his own warning for Australians: "Be careful about making friends with America because actually America wants to control the world . . . all of us will be colonised so we have to be careful about making friends with the USA . . . if they are shaken continuously, definitely, they will be smashed."
Both men claimed to be unafraid of the death penalty, which they will very likely face, and had no regrets about the 202 innocent lives lost in the October 12 Bali bombings.
They are accused of coming to Bali and helping to mix the chemicals which were turned into the car bomb which exploded outside Kuta's Sari Club.
Sawad claimed to have learned about mixing chemicals in Pakistan.
Prosecutors are yet to decide but it is likely the two men will be charged under Indonesia's anti-terrorism laws.
This means they face the death penalty for their role in making the bomb.
Yesterday's handover, which also included Ghoni's .38 calibre Smith and Wesson revolver and 67 bullets, signals that their trials could start in Bali within six weeks.
Today both men are expected to testify at the trial of Ali Imron, the only repentant bomber among the group.
During yesterday's procedure the two men, handcuffed and dressed in prison clothes, were questioned by prosecutors about their roles in Bali and in other JI bombing campaigns.
Ghoni told prosecutors he had come to Bali to help the bombing.
He said he had received an SMS message telling him to start mixing the chemicals and that he had stayed in Bali mixing the chemicals for three or four days.
Ghoni said during this time he met Mukhlas, the alleged overall controller of the bombings.
He also admitted attending an August meeting in Java, which prosecutors claim was a planning meeting at which roles were assigned to the Bali conspirators.
Ghoni is also accused of transferring the chemicals into the plastic filing cabinets, which were then packed inside the L300 minivan.
Sawad admitted he had mixed the Bali chemicals, saying: "I have mixed chemicals before."
He was coy about who ordered him to mix them, saying "nobody" did. The Daily Telegraph
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