Japanese Justice Minister: “A Friend Of Mine Is In Al Qaeda”
Is he referring to Lionel Dumone, above?
Japan’s Minister of Justice has revealed a mysterious connection between himself and an al-Qaeda agent involved in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that claimed more than 200 lives.
In an unprecedented admission by a Japanese cabinet minister, Kunio Hatoyama suggested today that the terrorist had offered advance warnings of at least one bombing attempt.
During his bizarre outburst to an audience of foreign media, Mr Hatoyama recounted a disjointed anecdote in which he said that a “friend of a friend” was an operative for the notorious terror group.
He said that the al-Qaeda member had paid numerous visits to Japan around three years ago, disguising his identity with moustaches and beards each time. Mr Hatoyama met the friend who told him about the terror operative through a circle of butterfly enthusiasts.
The minister added that the contact, via the friend, had warned him of the risk of a bomb attack on the tourist-packed Indonesian island.
“This particular person was actually involved in the bombings of the centre of Bali,” said Mr Hatoyama. “Although he is a friend of my friend I was advised not to go close to the centre of Bali because it would be bombed.”
Although Mr Hatoyama later issued a denial that he had personally been warned of any terrorist attack, his original meaning seemed clear. He did not deny that the contact who visited Japan had generally issued advance warnings about possible al-Q’aeda activities.
“As a matter of fact it was three or four months after the Bali bombings when I heard the story and it is not true that I knew the bombing plan before it happened,” he wrote in a hastily-written letter late this afternoon.
Mr Hatoyama comes from Japanese political aristocracy and is the grandson of a former prime minister. At the time of the Bali bombings in 2002 he was chairman of a special committee of parliament charged with planning to handle an armed attack on Japan.
Mr Hatoyama brought up the subject of his “friend of a friend” in al-Q’aeda in response to a question about mandatory finger-printing for all foreign visitors and residents in Japan. As minister in charge of introducing the new law next month, Mr Hatoyama was keen to demonstrate the need for tighter controls to deter criminals and terrorists from entering Japan.
It is possible that the al-Qaeda operative Mr Hatoyama was referring to was Lionel Dumont, the only al-Qaeda linked terror suspect known to have visited Japan on a regular basis. Mr Dumont, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, was arrested four years ago in Munich.
(Times)
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Bali July/August 2002–big big entourage with many body guards protecting young japanese guy who partied it up in Kuta, Bali every night of the week for a number of weeks straight. He was rumored to be the son of powerful jap politician. October 2002–the massive car bomb could have easily gone off in front of the Apache Bar which is a bigtime japanese hang out, instead went off in front of The Sari Club, a western hangout just down the street. this stinks like a muslim footbath. F*ck diplomatic immunity, Hatoyama needs to be interrogated.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:45 pm