Da'i rues failure to catch terrorists<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar apologized on Thursday
\nfor his failure to capture the country's two top fugitive terrorist
\nsuspects as he bid farewell in advance of his replacement by
\nComr. Gen. Sutanto.<\/p>\n
The two fugitives, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohd. Top,
\nboth Malaysians, have been blamed for masterminding a series of
\nterrorist attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombings
\nand the 2003 blast at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel.<\/p>\n
\"We're still trying to track them down and ascertain their
\nwhereabouts so that we can find out what they are planning next,\"
\nDa'i told a news conference ahead of the National Police's 59th
\nanniversary, which falls on Friday.<\/p>\n
He said that a special team formed to hunt the two fugitives
\ncontinued the search for them and other members of terror group
\nJamaah Islamiyah, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-
\nQaeda network.<\/p>\n
He claimed that the police had come close to catching them on
\na number of occasions, but they always managed to escape in time,
\nand managed to launch further attacks, such as that on the
\nAustralian Embassy last year.<\/p>\n
\"We once managed to track them down to a rented house in
\nCengkareng (western Jakarta). As we got within spitting range of
\ntheir hideout, a blast suddenly went off and they made good their
\nescape.\"<\/p>\n
The police chief said that some Indonesians might be harboring
\nAzahari and Noordin given that it was proving so difficult to
\ncapture them.<\/p>\n
\"We know they have often gone to the southern Philippines to
\ncommunicate with groups there. They normally went by sea through
\nNorth Sulawesi, but when we posted our men at the port, they
\nswitched to Nunukan (East Kalimantan), and traveled to Sabang
\nbefore arriving in the Philippines,\" Da'i said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that capturing Noordin and Azahari was not an easy
\ntask. A lot of time and effort had gone into tracking them down
\nso that if the two fugitives are caught sometime in the future,
\nthis would represent the culmination of a long process.<\/p>\n
In his farewell address, Da'i referred to the police's
\nachievements under his four-year leadership, including what he
\nclaimed was a successful operation against illegal logging in
\nPapua, in which a number of senior police and government
\nofficials were arrested.<\/p>\n
\"We know that we are lagging far behind the expectations of
\nthe public. But we have tried to do our best with the 305,456
\npolice officers that we have,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Da'i is to be replaced soon by Comr. Gen. Sutanto, the current
\nNational Narcotics Agency (BNN) director, who has been nominated
\nby President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.<\/p>\n
However, Sutanto has yet to pass the screening process in the
\nHouse of Representatives, with a selection hearing being
\nscheduled for Monday. However, it is likely that the House will
\nendorse the President's choice.<\/p>\n
Under Da'i's leadership, the National Police have completed the
\nconstruction of a new police training center in Cikeas, Bogor,
\nWest Java, which will host a ceremony marking the anniversary of
\nthe founding of the National Police on Friday.<\/p>\n
Da'i said the new facility, covering a total area of around 50
\nhectares, would serve as a multifunction training center for
\ndetectives, traffic police and intelligence personnel.<\/p>",
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