Bali suspect re-enacts bombings (Swears Jemaah Islamiah acted alone)

BBC ^ | February 11, 2003

[Indy Pendance]

A key suspect in last October's bombings of Bali nightclubs has publicly admitted his role in the attacks and demonstrated how they were carried out.

Ali Imron, who was arrested in January, told a televised press conference organised by the Indonesian police that he felt sorry for the families of the victims, but that the US and its allies were legitimate targets.

He was keen to stress that only "our group" was involved and that "nobody backed us or sponsored us". He did not elaborate.

But Mr Imron's lawyer told the BBC that he believed the statement his client made was not genuine, and the whole presentation had been stage-managed by the police.

The lawyer, Made Rahman Marasabesi, was also quoted by an Indonesian television channel as saying that Ali Imron's group could not carry out the attacks without foreign assistance.

More than 190 people - mainly foreigners - were killed when two bombs tore through a popular nightclub district in Kuta on 12 October.

The Indonesian police say the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) was behind the bombings, and several governments believe that Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network backs JI.

Ali Imron was speaking before taking part in a police reconstruction of the attacks, during which he demonstrated how explosives were wired up and explained in detail the moments leading up to the explosions.

Sole perpetrators

The BBC's correspondent in Jakarta, Rachel Harvey, said Ali Imron looked relaxed and confident during the press conference.

He said that Indonesians should be proud of his group, which, he said, was acting alone.

"I swear... that the Bali bomb incidents are purely the doing of our group... there is no-one manipulating us, no-one supporting us as we have often recently heard reported," he said.

"I hope that there will be no more arguments about who really detonated the Bali bombs," he added.

He also said that the target of the attack was "America and its allies because they are the international terrorists", and that was why the US consulate in Denpasar was also attacked.

The majority of the Bali victims were Australian. Ali Imron said that he was not aware whether Australia was an ally of America or not.

On Monday, Australia's ABC television network screened a programme in which another suspect, Imam Samudra, said Australians were the target, in part because of their role in East Timor's transition to independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Explanation

Ali Imron then used a mock-up to explain how the bomb which sparked the biggest explosion in the Sari nightclub was constructed.

Occasionally cracking jokes, he pointed out the various fuses to police investigators. He said the bomb took eight days to construct.

He also strapped on a vest that featured eight mock pipe bombs, with explosive chords connected to a detonator switch.

He said it was the device worn by one of the suspects to blow up Paddy's bar, supporting the theory of a suicide bombing.

Further charges

Ali Imron was arrested by Indonesian authorities along with another suspect, Mubarak, on 13 January as they were reportedly attempting to flee the country.

He is suspected of assembling the two explosive devices used in the bombing, and of driving the vehicle containing the more powerful device to the site of the Sari nightclub, which was packed with tourists and locals.

He is the younger brother of two other suspects in police custody. One of them, Ali Gufron, also known as Mukhlas, is said by police to be the operations chief for Jemaah Islamiah.

In January the Indonesian authorities said the alleged spiritual chief for JI, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, is also likely to be charged in connection with the attacks.

Ali Imron said he knew the cleric but that he did not think he took part in the attack.

"I admit structurally I am under (Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's) leadership. But in this case I never followed his order. I think he is not involved but I think he knows," he said.

The Indonesian police are holding around 30 people in connection with the attacks. About half a dozen of them are key suspects.

The first court case is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

[csvset]

Bali-blasts suspect shows how group built bombs

At a bizarre press conference
held in the police headquarters in Bali on Tuesday,
Ali Imron (left) explained how the bombs were assembled with the help of two "accomplices" who were actually policemen. -- AFP

BALI -- Wearing a vest filled with mock pipe bombs, a chief suspect in the Bali bombings methodically demonstrated to a crowd of reporters on Tuesday how his group assembled the devices that levelled two nightclubs and killed nearly 200 people last October.

Ali Imron -- dressed in a blue prison uniform -- then took part in a bizarre press conference at police headquarters in which he confessed to taking part in the bombings and insisted he was proud of his bomb-making skills, but apologised to the victims' families.

"My capabilities are something to be proud of, but...they were used for a wrong purpose," said Imron, who said he learned how to make bombs in Afghanistan and has admitted to helping plan the Oct 12 attack.

Since the blasts, police have arrested 29 suspects and blamed the attack on the Al-Qaeda linked terror group Jemaah Islamiah. But they have struggled to convince a sceptical public that a group of Indonesians planned and carried out the bombings, despite confessions from many of the suspects.

As a result, detectives have staged a series of re-enactments since December aimed at showing how the attack was executed. On Tuesday, the re-enactment focused on how the group put together the bomb that was carried into Paddy's nightclub and a much larger device placed inside a Mitsubishi minivan outside the packed Sari Club on the opposite side of the street.

Looking more like a talk show host, Ali Imron first showed how the group built the bomb placed in the minivan. He said it took eight days to assemble.

"I hope that there will be no more arguments about who really detonated the Bali bombs," he said.

"In my heart, I regret this. I want to apologise to the victims' families in Indonesia and to foreign families."

Investigators have estimated that the larger bomb weighed up to 100 kg. But on Tuesday, Imron claimed that it weighed over a tonne and consisted of a mix of potassium chlorate, sulphur and aluminum powder.

Later in the presentation, he strapped on a vest that featured eight mock pipe bombs with explosive chords connected to a detonator switch. It was the device that one of the terrorists was wearing when he allegedly blew himself up inside Paddy's -- the first recorded suicide bombing attack in Indonesia.

Indonesian authorities say that the Jemaah Islamiah group turned its attentions to Bali, after its plans to bomb Western interests in Singapore were thwarted.

Imron reiterated that they chose Bali because they thought it was a popular tourist spot for Americans.

"We picked Bali because we wanted to target America and its allies."

The first trials in the case are expected to open next month in Bali, police say. The defendants will likely face death sentences under newly-adopted anti-terrorism legislation.

Several suspects -- including the lead bomb-maker, a Malaysian identified as Ashari -- remain on the run. -- AP

[blam]

"Ali Imron said that he was not aware whether Australia was an ally of America or not."

Just being Christians of European extraction was close enough, huh?

[Squantos]

consisted of a mix of potassium chlorate, sulphur and aluminum powder

Their source is a fireworks factory if that was their materials.......simple pyrotechnic powder mix used in every fireworks style mortar display's.

Just my opinion.....:o)

Stay Safe !