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Don't fear terror label: JI leader


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Police say they had evidence that terrorists planning other attacks in Jakarta.
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SOLO, Indonesia -- In a message sent from his jail cell, controversial Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir has urged Muslims to adhere to their faith without fear of being labelled "terrorists."

The fiery address from Ba'asyir came as officials at a school he set up confirmed that a man,identified by police as the suicide bomber who triggered last week's deadly blast at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel was one of their pupils.

Ba'asyir is reputedly the spiritual leader of al Qaeda linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which is believed responsible for the Jakarta bombing and the October 12 Bali blast which killed more than 200 people. Ba'asyir denies the existence of JI.

The speech also comes just two days before Jakarta prosecutors will sum up their case against the cleric, who is on trial for treason, and make their demand for sentencing. The maximum penalty he faces is a life term.

Ba'asyir sent his message to 3,000 believers gathered in a stadium in Solo, in central Java, for a congress of the Mujahiden Council of Indonesia, or MMI.

"Do not be afraid of being labelled as trying to overthrow (the government) or as terrorists when you are carrying out Islamic sharia (law)," Ba'asyir said in the speech read out at an inaugural prayer meeting by Irfan Awwas, MMI executive chairman, Reuters reports.

His words were interrupted by cries of "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)," from the congregation. Solo is the heart of Ba'asyir's movement and where he runs the Islamic school that was attended by some of the accused Bali bombers.

School officials said another of the pupils was Asnar Latin Sani, identified as the suicide bomber who drove a car packed with explosives and fuel up to the lobby of the U.S.-run Marriott Hotel last Tuesday and blew it up, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 100.

Asnar, 28, graduated in 1994, they said.

Indonesia's defense minister earlier said the perpetrators behind the Marriott hotel attack had received training in Pakistan and Afghanistan from al Qaeda bomb-making experts.

Minister Matori Abdul Djalil said he was convinced JI was behind the attack.

"There are many more Jemaah Islamiyah members on the loose in Indonesia," the Associated Press quoted him as saying.

"Each one of them has special abilities received from training in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Matori's comments came as the U.S. State Department warned that the terrorists behind Tuesday's attack in Jakarta may be planning further attacks against American targets in Indonesia.

The State Department said Tuesday's attack outside the Marriott was a reminder to U.S. citizens of "ongoing terrorist threats in Indonesia."

Throughout Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim nation -- there is a "potential for violence and terrorist actions against U.S. citizens and interests," the statement said.

It added that Americans who opted to travel or live in Indonesia "should keep a low profile, varying times and routes for all required travel, remaining acutely aware of their immediate environment."


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