Howard did not raise the matter with President Megawati when they met last week in Jakarta

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL South East Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, February 18 (IslamOnline.net) – The Australians were disappointed that their Prime Minister John Howard did not raise the issue of death penalty that could be imposed on the Bali bombers in Indonesia, news agencies from Jakarta said on Tuesday, February 18, 2003.

Local newspapers in Australia expected Howard to speak out against possible death sentence in the Bali case, DPA agency reported.

However his decision not to talk to the Indonesian government on the matter sent a wave of dissatisfaction in Australia, which was recently shaken by massive anti-war on Iraq demonstrations.

Howard did not raise the matter with President Megawati Soekarnoputri when they met last week in Jakarta and his failure to do so raised the ire of the opposition in his country.

The Labor Party’s Duncan Kerr, an opposition member of Parliament said a death sentence could create more martyrs for the extremist cause.

He told Australia's ABC Radio that Howard's position also ran counter to Australia's stance on capital punishment.

"I think we have to be very careful and to realize that there are some within our region who are looking for excuses and the death of those responsible for the Bali terrorist attacks by execution would be seized on by them," he said as reported by DPA.

More than 190 people died in the bomb blasts that ripped two discotheques in Bali on October 12 last year. Half of those killed were Australians.

Indonesian police scored big with the arrest of several key suspects in the case though they were also assisted by international agencies.

In a move to indicate that it was ready to carry out death sentences again, the authorities in Jakarta last month ordered several drug traffickers on death row to be shot to death.

The last time the country carried out death sentence was when it executed a Malaysian for drug trafficking in 1994.

Observers believe the Megawati regime will go ahead with the death sentence of Bali bombers and others found guilty of treason, including people like Abu Bakar Basyir who is waiting to know what charges the authorities want to bring against him.

Police in Jakarta last month said Basyir may be brought to court on charges of treason against the Indonesian republic. This will definitely carry death sentence if the frail and ageing Islamic leader is found guilty.

Human rights and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) in Indonesia are scrambling to prevent the resumption of death sentences, which are carried out by shooting squads in the country.

Basyir was arrested in October last year after the Bali bombing after pressure by both Singapore and the US were too much to bear for the Megawati regime. The U.S. accuses Basyir of leading the Al-Qaeda and the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), two alleged terror organizations in South East Asia.

The Islamic leader, who chairs the Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI) and owns a religious school in Solo, Indonesia denies all the allegations and challenged his accusers to come out with a single proof of his involvement in the crimes.

The U.S., Singapore and Indonesian police has so far failed to do so, the MMI told IslamOnline on Tuesday.