ASEAN agrees to boost cooperation on terrorism<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN) pledged on Wednesday to boost cooperation in combating
\nterrorism including sharing resources after an attack and setting
\nup task forces.<\/p>\n
They, however, shied away from endorsing a proposal by host
\ncountry Indonesia to extradite terrorist suspects or witnesses
\nfor trial purposes in a member country.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that each ASEAN
\ncountry would establish a task force dedicated to increasing
\nregional coordination.<\/p>\n
"This is stronger than any cooperation we have had so far,"
\nDa'i said, adding the network would become operational by June.<\/p>\n
"In the event of a terrorist attack the affected country can
\nrequest assistance from other ASEAN countries," Da'i said at the
\nend of a three-day workshop of police from the Association of
\nSouth East Asian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
Such assistance would include identifying, pursuing and
\napprehending suspects, examining witnesses, searching and seizing
\nevidence, evacuating and treating victims along with providing
\nforensic expertise, Da'i said.<\/p>\n
They also agreed to submit to the upcoming third annual Senior
\nOfficial Meeting on Transnational Crimes (SOMTC) in Hanoi in June
\nIndonesia's proposal to make terrorist acts extraditable
\noffenses.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, reeling from the deadly Bali bombing on Oct. 12,
\nhad sought for the extradition of terrorist suspects and
\nwitnesses currently detained in Singapore and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Malaysian police chief Norian Mai was quoted as saying on
\nTuesday that they had agreed with Indonesia to form a special
\nforce to track down members of the al-Qaeda linked Jemaah
\nIslamiyah (JI) terror network blamed for the Bali bomb attack.<\/p>\n
"The antiterrorist meeting held in Jakarta had decided to
\nforge greater cooperation in sharing information and form a
\nspecial force in tracking down terrorists, particularly JI
\nmembers who are still at large," he said.<\/p>\n
The special force would comprise Malaysian and Indonesian
\npolice personnel who would focus primarily on hunting down JI
\nmembers involved in the Bali bombing, he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian police have arrested 30 people over the bombing,
\nwhich killed nearly 200 people, most of them western tourists,
\nlast October.<\/p>\n
They are still searching for 10 suspects, including three
\nMalaysians.<\/p>\n
Norian said the detention of some 80 suspected militants
\nbelonging to JI and its local affiliate the Malaysian Militant
\nGroup (KMM) over the past 18 months had contained the threat of
\nterrorism in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Police have a list of those involved in KMM and with the help
\nof neighboring countries, could eliminate their presence in
\nMalaysia, he said.<\/p>\n
Police were also focusing on capturing JI members trying to
\nescape from Malaysian and other security forces in the region.<\/p>\n
"I am confident continued action in tracking down members of
\nthe JI group can reduce the threat not only from this militant
\ngroup but other international militant groups too," Norian said.<\/p>\n
JI aims to create a pan-Islamic state encompassing Malaysia,
\nIndonesia, Brunei, Singapore and southern Philippines.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-agrees-to-boost-cooperation-on-terrorism-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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