Indonesia: The Bali Bombing

Former Indonesian Air Force member was not involved in the Bali explosion

Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters spokesman Lt. Col. D.J. Nachrowi denied on Wednesday that a former member of the Air Force was involved in the Bali explosion, which claimed nearly 190 lives on Saturday night.

"After intensive investigation, the police did not find any indication that he was involved in the explosion," he told the Antara news agency.

Meanwhile, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who leads the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), has denied his link with Jema'ah Islamiyah, both when he was in Singapore and Malaysia and since his return to Indonesia.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, filed suit against Time magazine on Wednesday for reporting that he has links with the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Abu Bakar's lawyers said the magazine had issued a false report regarding Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in its 15th edition on Sept. 23.

In its report, Time said that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had claimed that Abu Bakar had links to al-Qaeda, but U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L Boyce denied the report.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there was no indication that Jema'ah Islamiyah (JI) was involved in the bombings in Legian, Kuta, on Saturday night, which claimed almost 190 lives.

"Don't directly link Jema'ah Islamiyah as being behind the Oct. 12 bombings. It cannot be said that any organization was behind the incident," he said after meeting with officials of the local administration on Tuesday as reported by Antara.

He said that once the investigation was properly completed and enough facts and evidence were gathered, the government would explain the incident that killed foreigners and locals.

Henry Marconi PRAVDA.Ru Sydney