Bali bombing suspect admits earlier attacks

An Islamic militant accused of last year’s Bali bombing told a court today that he bought bomb-making materials and built explosives for three other blasts including one at the Philippines ambassador’s residence.

Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who has been charged with planning the October 12 bomb attacks which killed 202 people, including around 30 Britons, admitted that his terrorist activities go back to 2000, when he bought materials used in a Christmas Eve church bombing – which injured two people – and the ambassador’s residence.

He also admitted to playing a part in the bombing of a shopping centre in Jakarta in 2001.

The August 2000 bomb blast at the residence of Philippine Ambassador Leonides Caday in Jakarta killed two people and seriously injured the ambassador. Five people were injured in the 2001 blast at the Atrium Shopping Mall.

“Before the Bali bombings, I prepared the vehicles and bought the explosives to bomb the (residence) of the Philippines ambassador,” Amrozi said. “I carried out these violent acts because there was no way to expel (foreigners) from Indonesia through diplomatic means.”

The 40-year-old mechanic also said he had to act to prevent the destruction of Indonesia’s moral fabric, which he said was collapsing in part because “foreigners have colonised late night television” – the latest but most bizarre justification for his attacks.

“What would happen to Bali in 10 years if I hadn’t bombed it?” he asked the court. “For sure, the morals of Indonesians would be severely ruined because most people would not be going to mosques, churches and temples.”

Amrozi is on trial for the Bali nightclub bombings and has been accused of buying the bomb-making materials and the minivan used in the attack. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

He has not been implicated in the earlier bombings which have been blamed on the al-Qaida linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. But Amrozi has admitted being part of the organisation.

The group’s spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, is on trial for treason and has been accused of masterminding the 2000 church bombings in an effort to bring down the country’s secular government. He has denied any involvement in the bombings.

Amrozi’s trial and those of 33 other Bali suspects are being closely watched as tests of Indonesia’s commitment to crack down on terrorism in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Soon after his arrest in November, Amrozi was dubbed the “smiling terrorist” after he outraged survivors and relatives of the attacks’ victims in Indonesia and abroad when he appeared giggling before TV crews.

He has reportedly admitted to taking part in the attacks and has said he acted to avenge the sufferings of Muslims at the hands of the US and its allies.