Australian Broadcasting Corporation


LOCATION: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2004/s1201000.htm

Broadcast: 16/09/2004

Two arrested in connection with embassy bombing

Reporter: Peter Lloyd

TONY JONES: First to Indonesia, where police have announced the arrest of two people whom they believe were connected with last week's suicide car bombing outside the Australian embassy building.

Well, for the latest on this we're joined from Jakarta by the ABC's South-East Asia correspondent Peter Lloyd.

Peter, what more can you tell us about the raid on this house in East Java and the couple that have been arrested?

PETER LLOYD: Well, Tony, we know that the couple are a 26-year-old man and his 24-year-old wife and they were detained about 24 hours ago when police raided this house in East Java.

And principally they went in to conduct this raid because we're told that they believed that there was some sort of induction or swearing in ceremony going on for three new members of Jemaah Islamiah.

Now, the police went into the house and detained the couple, but these three would-be members of JI managed to escape before the police arrived.

They've also told us that the husband and wife tried to destroy some documents by throwing them down a well, tearing them up and throwing them down a well.

Police have recovered them and are now piecing them back together.

They're not cooperating with the authorities and there are several reports which say that they've been held in suspicion of a connection to Azahari, the Malaysian, who is the wanted bomb making fugitive thought to be behind last week's bombing here in Jakarta, but the authorities haven't yet substantiated that and we're waiting for more details from them.

TONY JONES: Police on the ground haven't confirmed that claim, with you at least?

PETER LLOYD: No, they haven't.

There are several reports from different news agencies suggesting that they're wanted for a direct connection to Azahari and Noordin Top, the two Malaysians most wanted here in Jakarta on suspicion of being the masterminds behind the bombing because they are both explosives experts and in the case of Azahari he's meant to be the mastermind bombmaker.

So any connection to those two people with this husband and wife that have been arrested would certainly be the most substantial breakthrough so far in the progress towards funding those responsible for the bombing.

TONY JONES: Indonesian police also released new images of 10 terrorist suspects.

Who are they exactly?

PETER LLOYD: Well, they really released 10 photofits and sketches and also photographs, two of them are Azahari and Noordin Top, the Malaysians.

Several of the others are people who have been wanted really since the Bali bombing and again with the Marriott bombing.

One of them is more interesting because his name is Jabir and he is according to Da'i Bachtiar, the national police chief, one of the possible suspects, one of the possible suicide bombers.

They haven't finished with DNA matches yet to confirm this, but he's been named as a possible bomber from last week.

And his interesting connection to the family tree of terror in this part of the world is that he the cousin of Fatah Roman al-Ghozi, who is a very senior JI bombmaker who was arrested in the Philippines and escaped from custody on the very day that John Howard was in Manila last year announcing $5 million of assistance for the Philippines authorities to help them track down these kind of people.

He was later shot dead by the Philippines authorities and his connection to JI has been very well established in recent years.

He was involved in bombings in Manila and has been a widely acknowledged and dangerous person from Jemaah Islamiah for several years in the region.

TONY JONES: Peter, all this is happening against the backdrop, not only of the Australian elections, but the Indonesian elections and rather unusually we understand President Megawati is to make this time a night time visit in a couple of hours' time to the embassy bombing site, her second visit there.

Do you know why?

PETER LLOYD: That's right.

We understand that after some electioneering this evening, Jakarta time, she'll be going with the Australian ambassador David Ritchie back to the bomb site at 10:00 local time to re-inspect the scene.

There's no reason as far as we can tell for that, and the only guess the people are making here is that it's a political statement that she's making locally, that she is very much engaged not just with the issue of terrorism, but more specifically the investigation into the embassy bombing.

TONY JONES: She was involved in a televised debate last night with her opponent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Apparently she didn't go very well?

PETER LLOYD: No, and she's engaged in two or three of those before the election next week.

The opinion polls, if they're any guide, two of them published in the last 24 hours suggest she's as much as 30 points behind Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with a substantial gap between them and only three or four days before the election on Monday.

She is desperately in need of a boost if she's going to have any chance of winning this election.

TONY JONES: All right, Peter we'll have to leave it there.

Thanks very much for joining us.