Australia demands action over Bali terror

Australia’s foreign minister today said he will visit neighbouring Indonesia next week to push for Jakarta to ban the Islamic militant group suspected in the Bali bombings and end sentence reductions for convicted terrorists.

However, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also said he planned to thank Jakarta for its effective response to Saturday’s attacks that killed at least 22 people, including two or more Australians, on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali.

Australia wants Jakarta to outlaw al-Qaida’s south-east Asian offshoot Jemaah Islamiyah, the main suspect in the latest Bali attacks as well as those that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians, on the same island on October 12, 2002.

Jemaah Islamiyah’s suspected spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiracy over the 2002 attacks.

Australia protested in August when Bashir’s sentence was slashed by four and a half months to commemorate Indonesia’s independence day.

Bashir reportedly faces a further reduction of 30 days next month as part of Indonesia’s system of automatic sentence reductions for prisoners that do not face the death penalty.

Downer said Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had said on September 16 that the automatic reduction system was under review.

“I’m not sure where they’re up to at the moment with that review, but obviously that’s an issue I look forward to talking to them about,” Downer said.

Justice Minister Chris Ellison told Australia’s parliament that Bashir was among 20 prisoners convicted of terrorism offences who stood to have their sentences reduced.

“This does not send a good message in relation to the fight against terrorists, and we’re certainly checking out reports in Indonesia that the remission will be applied (to Bashir’s sentence),” Ellison said.

“We continue to make representations in the strongest possible terms to Indonesia that remissions should not apply to anyone convicted of a terrorist offense,” he said.

Ellison said the number of Australian police in Bali helping with investigation would peak at 45 tomorrow.

The high number of police helping out indicates that “we continue to enjoy very close working relationships with the Indonesian authorities,” Ellison said.