In 2002 , an Australian academic cited Hamzah as the " best example " of Islamic politicians in Indonesia " prepared to play the extremist card to attract extra votes " . Hamzah " has supported Jemaah Islamiyah and has even been instrumental in having its members released from detention in the past " , according to Tim Lindsey , director of the Asian Law Centre at the University of Melbourne . " He has also openly accused the CIA and the United States of carrying out the Bali bombing . " In 2002 Hamzah gave an interview to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ( ABC ) , which broadcast it on 23 October . In a voiceover played during the television interview , an ABC journalist said , " Before the Bali bombing , Vice President Hamzah Haz insisted there were no terrorists in Indonesia . After the bombing , he gave this extraordinary justification for that position : " The ABC interviewer then told Hamzah : " In light of Bali , that would seem a reprehensible comment , if you knew that people were here . " Hamzah responded : " It ’s not true that I protect them and I do n’t regret what I said , but I said it in the past &mdash; it relates to the past . But now if there is a connection we want to know whether it is true that Indonesia has a terrorist network . " On 3 September 2003 Haz stated , " Actually , who is the terrorist , who is against human rights ? The answer is the United States because they attacked Iraq . Moreover , it is the terrorist king , waging war . " According to the '' Sydney Morning Herald '' , Hamzah 's statement was " a scathing attack that echoed the language of many of the Bali bombers . " Hamzah had also been criticised for publicly associating with several of Indonesia 's more hardline Islamic leaders , including Bashir , although after the Bali terrorist attack Hamzah severed those ties . Soon after Hamzah 's remarks , Riza Sihbudi , a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences , told the Detik news service that Hamzah seemed to be chasing votes . " He should not have spoken like that as he is the Vice-President , " Sihbudi said
Bali bombing
2002 Bali bombings
Hamzah Haz