Quotes by Sidney Jones

“Theres a lot of deep distrust with the accord in the military.”

“What happens in the next few weeks will be critical.”

“Having a president with such a big mandate is going to be an enormous boost.”

“Its not clear whether he played any kind of operational role, but hes the glue that holds the association together.”

“The IOC didnt even try to get guarantees on human rights,”

“If abuses take place as preparations for the Games proceed, it wont be just the Chinese authorities who will look bad -- the IOC and the corporate sponsors will be complicit.”

“(But) to allow these men to return to society as if one of the worst massacres of the 20th century never took place -- thats unthinkable.”

“First of all, hes only one of thousands of political prisoners in China. Secondly, he was given the choice between continued imprisonment and exile in the United States. Its not as though he would be free to speak out in China.”

“Our information is that he (Rusdan) was more militant and the hardliners of JI had turned to him for leadership,”

“Laskar Jundullah has also been accused of providing arms in Poso. Its a breakdown of law and order. And I think the fact that youve got a large unaccountable militia should be of concern not only to the Indonesian government but of deep concern to governments outside as well.”

“We must wait for more facts before we can make that conclusion.”

“If they get a technocrat and a skilled professional in the job as minister of justice and attorney general, we could see some real movement thats been lacking over the last several years.”

“Hes going to face the same two blocks that have constrained things in the past: the conservative Muslim constituency that doesnt want to see the whole Islamic system tainted on the one hand, and the reformers that dont want to see any roll backs of civil liberties on the other.”

“The police is a very important institution for the democratization of Indonesian society. Unless the police is firmly put in front in charge of internal security, this country is going to go backwards.”

“There are people who have suffered unbelievable trauma. There are people who have seen their own relatives being killed. There are people who have survived horrendous attacks.”

“This government has sold its policies better.”

“Every arrest leads to new information, to new (JI) members. It suggests the police are making headway in going after the network. This is a serious blow to their organization.”

“The real question is whether they will be able to get the two key masterminds that everyone suspects are involved in this one because they have also been involved in the last two big bombings. They have not been able to get those people for the last three years. But I think this may be a turning point, well have to see.”

“If it is true that he has given a new name to the group - that would suggest that the split has been formalized.”

“It could be a way of buoying up his image (to) his followers.”