JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Hamzah Haz on Thursday defendedhis
meeting with a Muslim cleric who has been linked by Singaporeto
regional terrorism, saying they talked about Islam's
peacefulmessage, report said.
Hamzah, speaking to reporters about his meeting with AbuBakar
Ba'asyir, also said there is "no such thing" as
aninternational terrorist network in the country, AFPreported.
Singapore says Ba'asyir is a leader of the Jemaah
Islamiyahregional terrorist group. Late last year 13 suspected
JemaahIslamiyah operatives were detained in the island republic
forallegedly plotting to blow up US targets there.
Hamzah met Ba'asyir, 64, during a visit Wednesday to the Al-Mukmin
Muslim boarding school founded by the cleric nearSurakarta in
Central Java.
Asked what they talked about, Hamzah replied as quoted by
thenews agency: "I said that Islam should be used as a symbol
ofpeace. Activities of Islamic boarding schools should be
thereflection of the notion. That is what I'm hoping for."
He said the National Police chief had made it clear there wasno
international terror network in the country and the centralbank
had found no evidence of terrorist funds here.
AFP quoted the US State Department, which in itsannual
report this month, expressed concern that as of lastDecember
"terrorists related to al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, andKMM
(the Malaysian Mujahedin Group) were operating in Indonesia."
Hamzah, who leads the largest Muslim party the
UnitedDevelopment Party, earlier this month visited the detained
leaderof the Laskar Jihad Islamic militia, Jafar Umar Thalib.
Critics said Hamzah was seeking support from hardline
Muslimgroups before the 2004 elections.
Jafar is being held for allegedly inciting a massacre
ofChristian villagers in the Maluku islands, where thousands
ofLaskar Jihad fighters were deployed in recent years.Indonesian
police have questioned Ba'asyir over his allegedterror links but
did not detain him, citing lack of evidence.
Ba'asyir denies the allegations. He has described al-Qaedaleader
Osama bin Laden, who was the alleged mastermind of theSeptember 11
attacks on the US, as "a true Muslim fighter".
