TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Terrorism Mitigation Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Sihardi Alius said that he will coordinate with the Foreign Ministry following the prospect of Hambali repatriation to Indonesia. He is the mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombing.
According to Suhardi, his office will coordinate with other agencies to discuss any possibility. He said that Indonesia must respect other countries’decision. “While also not undermining Indonesia’s interest,” he told reporters at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday, October 28, 2016.
Suhardi said that he had yet to receive any official notice from the US government in relation to Hambali’s repatriation. However, Indonesian diplomats will study the possibilities. “There will be further coordination. A designated task force will be made to discuss the issue.”
He said that Hambali would have no chance to build any connection in Indonesia, citing his lengthy prison term in Guantanamo Bay. “We hope that Hambali will no longer have any connection in Indonesia."
In August, Hambali filed an appeal for release which was later rejected by the Guantanamo’s parole board.
Hambali alias Encep Nurjaman alias Riduan Isamuddin was arrested in Ayutthya, Thailand, on August 11, 2003. He had planned to attack the building which would host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in Bangkok.
Hambali has been held in Guantanamo Bay prison for 13 years. The 52-year-old man was accused of masterminding the 2002 suicide bomb attack in Kuta, Bali. The incident left 202 killed and 209 wounded.
Foreign Ministry’s Director for International Security and Disarmament Andy Rachmianto earlier expressed that the Indonesian government has never submitted an official request to the United States over Hambali’s repatriation.
Andy explained that it will be difficult to repatriate Hambali even with an official request. As many as 17 remaining inmates currently detained at Delta Camp in Guantanamo are those given special treatment by the US authorities. “It may not be granted because he [Hambali] is a high-risk or hardcore prisoner.”
ADITYA BUDIMAN | YOHANES PASKALIS
