Bali bombers party with top cop

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Bali bombers party with top cop


By staff writers
October 11, 2007 12:18pm
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• Bombers at party at anti-terrorism chief's house
• Party aimed at turning militants into informers
• Financial rewards if bombers co-operate

Night off ... convicted Bali bomber Mubarok attended the party where he ate kebabs and led prayers / File

CONVICTED Bali nightclub bombers have feasted on kebabs with Indonesia's anti-terrorism chief at an evening party held at his house.

The party, which brought together more than 20 Muslim hardliners and former terrorists who have shown "regret" for their actions, was the latest "soft" strategy in Indonesia's anti-terror campaign to try and turn former militants into informers, or advocates of religious moderation.

"We approach the terrorists with a pure heart,'' Brigadier General Surya Dharma, the head of Indonesia's anti-terror unit and host of the party, told the Associated Press.

"We are all Muslims. We make them our brothers, not our enemy."

Mubarok, who is serving a life sentence for planning and carrying out the Bali bombings, was temporarily released from prison to attend the party, which was free of armed guards.
He led the prayers at the celebration, timed to coincide with the breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

"We did not stop to think, what if one of our family was caught up in the blasts? Now we are aware what we did was wrong,'' Mubarok, who goes by a single name, said.

Financial rewards

Prisoners such as Mubarok who co-operate with Indonesian authorities look forward to shorter sentences and financial rewards.

"We learn who can be turned and look after them,'' Colonel Tito Karnavian, the head of intelligence at the anti-terrorism unit, told the AP.
"And they then recruit people. We call it 'creeping de-radicalisation.' We should not treat terrorists all the same. We should learn their culture and then exploit it.''
A few prisoners work publicly with authorities - one former Jemaah Islamiah leader Nasir Abbas sometimes briefs media alongside police.

Most remain behind the scenes, identifying a voice recording or meeting with fellow detainees to try and change their fundamentalist views.

Ali Imron, another former militant serving life for the Bali bombings, said an unnamed cleric had issued an edict calling for his death because of his close links with police.

"Everything has a risk, but I have chosen my path,'' he said.
"I am doing what is right.''

The fifth anniversary of the Bali bombings is tomorrow.

Bali bombers party with top cop | NEWS.com.au