Out of jail, Indonesian radical urges Islamic unity

JAKARTA, June 14 (Reuters) Radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir walked out of a Jakarta jail today after serving time for links to the 2002 Bali bombings, calling on jubilant supporters to join forces for the spread of Islamic law.

Australia's prime minister said millions of his citizens would be extremely disappointed over the release and a U.S. embassy spokesman said there was cause for concern.

Wearing his trademark white skullcap and red-and-white checked shawl as he emerged from prison, a smiling Bashir said: ''Let us strengthen Islamic brotherhood. We strengthen our unity for one aim -- that is Islamic sharia (law)''.

Indonesia and other nations that ''have been in darkness'' could be saved by adherence to Islamist precepts, he said.

Bashir was surrounded by supporters shouting ''Allahu Akbar'' (God is greatest) before entering a black van for a long drive to his Islamic school, once dubbed the ''Ivy League'' of militants.

Seen by the West as the spiritual head of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) regional militant network, Bashir was convicted of being part of a conspiracy behind the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, many of them Australian tourists.

Southeast Asian and Western authorities blame the group for the Indonesian resort island attack and other strikes.

Hundreds waited outside the jail to welcome him.

''We are ready to defend him till the end,'' said Aep Suherman, 37, a member of Bashir's Indonesian Mujahidin Council.

But across from the prison, bread seller Chairudin said: ''He's too extreme. I am afraid to see so many people here today. I'm afraid of chaos.''

INTERNATIONAL CONCERNS In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard told parliament: ''I want (Indonesia's politicians) to understand from me, on behalf of the government, how extremely disappointed, even distressed, millions of Australians will be at the release''. Brian Deegan, whose son Josh was one of 88 Australians killed in the Bali attack, told Sky television: ''The cleric received a penalty that did not fit the crime.'' ''Abu Bashir really is to us what Osama bin Laden was to the Americans.'' In Jakarta, U.S. embassy spokesman Max Kwak said: ''When Bashir was sentenced in March of last year, we were deeply disappointed that a person convicted of a 'sinister conspiracy' was given such a short prison sentence''.

Kwak called the prison term a cause for concern, but added it was up to Indonesia to interpret its laws.

Some analysts say militants could use Bashir's release to revive Jemaah Islamiah, which police say has become decentralised with factions splitting off and operating independently.

''The perception among security forces is that the release may help consolidation moves as they (JI) have been torn,'' said University of Indonesia security analyst Andi Widjajanto.

But Nick Duder, Indonesian president director of risk management firm Hill&Associates, told Reuters: ''I think the extent of his influence is probably not as great as it was.'' Bashir was arrested shortly after the 2002 Bali blasts over other charges and later spent 18 months in jail for immigration offences after treason accusations were dismissed or overturned.

Police rearrested him for suspected links with the Bali attacks as he left prison in April 2004. A court sentenced him to 30 months for being part of a conspiracy behind the bombings, but his term was later cut by several months for good behaviour.

The 67-year-old cleric, who has called al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a true Islamic warrior, has denied any wrongdoing, and says Jemaah Islamiah does not exist.

After his release, Bashir began a 12-hour overland ride to the Al-Mukmin Islamic school he co-founded near the city of Solo, around 480 km from Jakarta.

Several school graduates are in prison for involvement in terrorism. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group has branded the school the ''Ivy League'' of militants.

Officials say despite the capture of nearly 300 people suspected of violating anti-terrorism laws, violent militants remain a threat in Indonesia, a nation of 17,000 islands and 220 million people, and the world's most populous Muslim country.

Reuters