Indonesia Okays Anti-Terrorism Decree

The spiritual leader of an Islamic militant group suspected by the United States of involvement in the Bali bombings checked into a hospital in his hometown and avoided questioning by police after praying Friday for the safety of Osama bin Laden.

The Indonesian government approved an emergency decree early Saturday to give itself expanded powers to fight terrorism and bring the bombers responsible for the Bali nightclub attack to justice.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri, looking to prove her resolve in the wake of international criticism following the Bali bombings, had been eager to get approval for the decree.

Justice Minister Yusril Izha Mahendra announced the decree after a Cabinet meeting.

"After what happened in Bali, Indonesia urgently needs a law to fight terrorism," Mahendra said. "By having this decree, we have the authority to take action against terrorism."

Abu Bakar Bashir, 64, of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah organization, looked pale and could have been suffering either from asthma or exhaustion, said an aide, Soleh, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

Bashir - whom Indonesian authorities named Thursday as a suspect in a series of church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000 but not in the Bali attacks that killed nearly 200 people last weekend - was scheduled to be questioned by police Saturday in the capital, Jakarta.

Indonesia has long feared that taking action against Bashir could fuel a backlash by Islamic extremists. Government ministers acknowledged this week for the first time that Jemaah Islamiyah exists in the world's most populous Muslim country.

The move against Bashir followed intense international pressure for the Indonesian government to act, and came after Indonesian investigators returned from questioning Omar al-Faruq, a suspected operative for al-Qaida in Southeast Asia who is now in U.S. custody.

Bashir repeatedly has denied any involvement in the church bombings and the Bali attack.

Before he was hospitalized, Bashir led 300 followers in a defiant prayer service, where he accused the United States of inventing both al-Qaida and Jemaah Islamiyah to portray Muslims as terrorists.

"Even I myself will be arrested soon because I am allegedly a terrorist," he said at the service in his hometown of Solo, where he lives openly some 250 miles southeast of Jakarta. "In fact the terrorist is America."

Bashir also prayed for the safety of bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader whom he has praised many times in the past.

Suradi, a specialist in lung ailments at the hospital, said Bashir had respiratory problems and was treated with oxygen when he arrived at Muhammadiyah Hospital in Solo. The cleric was weak and may also have heart trouble.

Suradi, who uses only one name, said it was unlikely that Bashir would be able to leave the hospital before Sunday.

Before being hospitalized, Bashir said he would travel to Jakarta for the questioning.

"My health is declining, I am tired and old, but I have to face all of this," said Bashir, who told reporters he was being sacrificed to ease international pressure on Indonesia. "I have already bought a train ticket to Jakarta. If I am feeling well, I will come for the investigation."

Bashir has not been linked to the Bali bombing that killed at least 183 people and wounded about 300 more on Saturday. But officials say there is evidence of involvement by Jemaah Islamiyah, a group viewed by the United States and Australia as a prime suspect. The dead and wounded were mostly foreigners.

Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang said Thursday that Bashir "was now considered a suspect" in the church bombings.

Asked if Bashir could be arrested, Aritonang said: "That depends on how it goes on Saturday. Let's wait and see."

Col. Hasyim Irianto, the police chief of Solo, met with Bashir at the hospital and said Saturday's interrogation would not be canceled, though it was likely to be postponed.

"According to Bashir, he is going to get out of the hospital in two days," Irianto said. "I wish him a quick recovery."

Police say the bombing probe was focusing on a group of eight people - seven Indonesians and one foreigner - who are being "intensively questioned."

Justice Minister Yusril Izha Mahendra announced the emergency decree early Saturday after a Cabinet meeting.

"After what happened in Bali, Indonesia urgently needs a law to fight terrorism," Mahendra said. "By having this decree, we have the authority to take action against terrorism."

The government was in the process of releasing the specifics to journalists, but initial drafts of the decree called for relaxing rules of evidence and letting suspects be held for three days based on intelligence reports they committed, or threatened to commit, acts of terrorism. Violators could face death or life imprisonment.

Indonesia has been hesitant to crack down on terrorism for fear of provoking a backlash by Islamic extremists. Many Indonesians are also reluctant to give wide powers to the security forces - with their long record of brutal human rights abuses - that the fledgling democracy has struggled to rein since dictator Suharto was toppled in 1998.

Megawati had parliament's support for the decree, which grants the government more power to fight terrorism but could also lead to a confrontation with Islamic extremists.