Islamic radical denies Bali bombing

A radical Indonesian Islamic cleric today flatly denied responsibility for the massive nightclub bombs that killed 188 foreign tourists in Bali on Saturday.

Abu Bakar Bashir is accused of being a key terror suspect in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

“All the allegations against me are groundless. I challenge them to prove anything,” said Bashir, the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a group that other governments insist is linked to al-Qaida.

“I suspect that the bombing was engineered by the United States and its allies to justify allegations that Indonesia is a base for terrorists,” he said by telephone from Solo, central Java.

Many of the dead and wounded were Australian holidaymakers.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has identified Jemaah Islamiyah as the prime suspect in the attack, although no group has yet claimed responsibility.

Last winter, Jemaah Islamiyah allegedly plotted a series of bomb attacks against the British, US and Australian embassies and other Western targets in neighbouring Singapore.

According to US security officials, Jemaah Islamiyah resembles al-Qaida in its organisation and like al-Qaida, operates across international boundaries.

The group, which seeks to establish a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia, is believed to have cells in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Burma and Thailand.

The United States has been seeking to enlist Indonesia as a partner in the war on terror. The country has arrested several suspects and shared intelligence, but ignores US calls for the arrest of other suspected terrorists, including Bashir.

Indonesian police declined to say today whether any action would be taken against Bashir.

“We are still investigating. I cannot saying anything about anyone, including him,” said national police spokesman, Major General Saleh Saaf.

In the past, Bashir has denied that he is a terrorist or has links with terrorism. He has warned that jailing him would provoke the anger of many Muslims, who make up about 90% of Indonesia’s 210 million people.