Jakarta asks Manila to free terror suspect

The Indonesian chief of intelligence is asking the government to release the remaining suspected Indonesian terrorist who is allegedly involved in a plot to conduct terrorist activities in the country.

Norberto Gonzales, presidential adviser for special concerns, said he would likely recommend to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the release of Agus Dwikarna.

Dwikarna is one of three Indonesians arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 13 for allegedly carrying bomb-making materials. They are believed to be associates of Fathur Rohman Al Ghozi, an Indonesian who confessed involvement in the string of bombings in Metro Manila on December 30, 2000.

The two other Indonesian suspects, Tamsil Linrun and Abdul Jamal Balfas, were freed last month after the Department of Justice did not find sufficient evidence against them and after Indonesian ambassador to Manila lobbied for their release at Malacanang.

The Indonesian police have been in hot water over the arrest of the three Indonesians, as it was thought that its officials tipped off the Philippine police on their arrival at the NAIA.

Some people in Indonesia feel that the arrests were politically motivated. Tamsil is the treasurer of the party of Indonesian leader, Speaker Amien Rais.

Arroyo sent Gonzales to Indonesia to determine the claim of the Indonesian government that the three Indonesians arrested are not terrorists and to soothe a few ruffled feathers.

"The head of Indonesian intelligence service had consulted with the President of Indonesia herself and they are appealing for the release of the three, including him (Dwikarna)," Gonzales said.

He is still uncertain what precipitated the arrest of the three. He was told that Indonesia is now in a transition stage, similar to the Philippine experience in 1986 when it made a big shift from dictatorship to democracy.

He said some of the opposition leaders are still being viewed adversely by the military and police.

"What the government told me is this, Dwikarna has done his part of our debate at the moment. He has never advocated the adoption of the Sharia law through the use of arms. He has always done this democratically," Gonzales said.