Bashir offers concession to Bush
Indonesian cleric tells followers to protest peacefully during the US leader’s visit.
He said Bush’s visit was driven by “personal and group interests”, that he was “very good at pretending” and had low morals, and Indonesians were against the visit because Bush had “killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims”.
Bashir holds Bush responsible for his detention and trial for treason and terrorism following the bombing in Bali in 2002 and at the Jakarta Marriott hotel in 2003.
Several anti-Bush rallies are being planned for Bush’s visit, his second to Indonesia.
He is scheduled to meet Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhyono on Monday.
Sorcery in store
In a different form of protest, an Indonesian medicine man said he would jinx Bush’s visit using a magic ritual which includes drinking a concoction of herbs mixed with blood from a goat, snake and black crow.
Ki Gendeng Pamungkas expects his sorcery performed a kilometre from the meeting venue of the two presidents to put US Secret Service agents in a trance and cause chaos.
He denied hating Americans and said he only disliked Bush.
Sentenced
Meanwhile, Ahmad Basyir Umar was sentenced to three years in jail for harbouring Indonesia’s most wanted terrorist suspect, Malaysian-born Noordin Mohammad Top.
According to the local court, Ahmad Basyir had failed to report Noordin’s whereabouts despite meeting him several times in Malang, East Java.
The latter allegedly masterminded several deadly attacks in Indonesia together with fellow Malaysian Azahari Husin, both linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah network.
Azahari was killed last year in a shootout with Indonesian security forces near Malang.