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CNN Live Saturday
Indonesian Authorities Arrest Leader of Jemaah Islamiah
Aired October 19, 2002 - 18:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to Indonesia. As we mentioned earlier, authorities have formally arrested Abu Bakar Ba'Asyir. He is the head the Indonesian Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah, which intelligence officials say is linked to al Qaeda.
He's under watch in a hospital in Java after fainting at a news conference. CNN's Maria Ressa has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Intelligence officials say this man, 64-year-old Abu Bakar Ba'Asyir, heads JI -- Jemaah Islamiah, al Qaeda's network in Southeast Asia.
Although he says he supports Osama bin Laden, he denies any connection with JI or al Qaeda. Ba'Asyir says the war on terror was created by the U.S. and Israel to tear down Islam.
He says the Indonesia government is going after him because it's weak and is bowing to U.S. pressure.
ABU BAKAR BA'ASYIR, ALLEGED HEAD OF JI: They probably want to abduct me, to kill me or to drive me out of Indonesia. This is part of a plan to weaken and defeat Islam.
RESSA: Yet hundreds of intelligence documents from the region outline how Ba'Asyir helped plot attacks on U.S. and Western interests in Singapore and carried out bomb attacks in Indonesia and the Philippines.
An al Qaeda operative now in U.S. custody said a Saudi sheik wired $74,000 to Ba'Asyir who used to it purchase up to four tons of explosives, some of which, intelligence sources say, may have been used for the Bali blast.
This document says Ba'Asyir told a Malaysian man now in custody in Singapore to hatch a plan to assassinate Megawati, referring to Indonesia's president, Megawati Sukarnoputri.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a lie engineered by America and Israel. I've never thought of assassinating Megawati especially because she's a Muslim woman.
RESSA: That's precisely the reason why he thinks Megawati can't leave Indonesia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what the Prophet Mohammed said -- that a nation led by a woman won't be successful.
RESSA: That message finds supporters in Indonesia, a fledgling democracy with the world's largest Muslim population.
ROHAN GUNARATNA, AL QAEDA EXPERT: Basically Megawati is not going after al Qaeda aggressively because she knows that if she goes after al Qaeda that her government may be toppled.
RESSA: The war on terror here is a battle for the soul of Islam between a moderate majority and a radical minority. A possible U.S. attack on Iraq only feds anti-U.S. sentiment and helps Ba'Asyir turn more moderates into radicals.
But analysts at this terrorism conference say the Bali blast may actually help the government turn that. With true leadership, President Megawati, most here say, could help prevent her war on terror from becoming a fight for survival.
Maria Ressa, CNN, Singapore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 19, 2002 - 18:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to Indonesia. As we mentioned earlier, authorities have formally arrested Abu Bakar Ba'Asyir. He is the head the Indonesian Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah, which intelligence officials say is linked to al Qaeda.
He's under watch in a hospital in Java after fainting at a news conference. CNN's Maria Ressa has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Intelligence officials say this man, 64-year-old Abu Bakar Ba'Asyir, heads JI -- Jemaah Islamiah, al Qaeda's network in Southeast Asia.
Although he says he supports Osama bin Laden, he denies any connection with JI or al Qaeda. Ba'Asyir says the war on terror was created by the U.S. and Israel to tear down Islam.
He says the Indonesia government is going after him because it's weak and is bowing to U.S. pressure.
ABU BAKAR BA'ASYIR, ALLEGED HEAD OF JI: They probably want to abduct me, to kill me or to drive me out of Indonesia. This is part of a plan to weaken and defeat Islam.
RESSA: Yet hundreds of intelligence documents from the region outline how Ba'Asyir helped plot attacks on U.S. and Western interests in Singapore and carried out bomb attacks in Indonesia and the Philippines.
An al Qaeda operative now in U.S. custody said a Saudi sheik wired $74,000 to Ba'Asyir who used to it purchase up to four tons of explosives, some of which, intelligence sources say, may have been used for the Bali blast.
This document says Ba'Asyir told a Malaysian man now in custody in Singapore to hatch a plan to assassinate Megawati, referring to Indonesia's president, Megawati Sukarnoputri.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a lie engineered by America and Israel. I've never thought of assassinating Megawati especially because she's a Muslim woman.
RESSA: That's precisely the reason why he thinks Megawati can't leave Indonesia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what the Prophet Mohammed said -- that a nation led by a woman won't be successful.
RESSA: That message finds supporters in Indonesia, a fledgling democracy with the world's largest Muslim population.
ROHAN GUNARATNA, AL QAEDA EXPERT: Basically Megawati is not going after al Qaeda aggressively because she knows that if she goes after al Qaeda that her government may be toppled.
RESSA: The war on terror here is a battle for the soul of Islam between a moderate majority and a radical minority. A possible U.S. attack on Iraq only feds anti-U.S. sentiment and helps Ba'Asyir turn more moderates into radicals.
But analysts at this terrorism conference say the Bali blast may actually help the government turn that. With true leadership, President Megawati, most here say, could help prevent her war on terror from becoming a fight for survival.
Maria Ressa, CNN, Singapore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
