'Foreign help may expose police inadequacies'<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman and Muninggar Sri Saraswati,
\nThe Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The presence of foreign police in the ongoing investigation of
\ntwo high-profile bombing cases is necessary, if not desirable,
\ngiven the shortcomings by the local police to deal with the
\ncrimes, says an analyst.<\/p>\n
Adrianus Meliala, a criminologist with the state-run
\nUniversity of Indonesia in Jakarta said on Monday that foreign
\npolice assistance in the investigations into the Bali blasts and
\nthe latest Marriot bombing was necessary given the lack of
\nexperience on the part of the National Police to deal with such
\ncomplex cases.<\/p>\n
He added that foreign investigators had to be approved by the
\nNational Police.<\/p>\n
\"The foreign assistance is allowed only if it is done under
\nthe scheme of government-to-government cooperation, and is merely
\npart of a technical assistance agreement from other governments,\"
\nhe told The Jakarta Post by telephone.<\/p>\n
However, the National Police can only request overseas
\nassistance as a last resort. \"I am afraid if the police
\nfrequently ask for foreign help, it will only expose their own
\ninability in fighting against terrorism,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meliala said the investigators from several countries were
\nonly allowed to take part in technical aspects of the probe.<\/p>\n
He dismissed speculation that the presence of foreign
\ninvestigators was in some way part of a grand foreign scheme to
\nsteer the investigation in a direction that may be beneficial to
\nthem. \"I don't think such speculation can be proven true, because
\npolice, in general, investigate based on evidence gathered from
\nthe field,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a member of the National Commission for Human Rights,
\nSalahuddin Wahid, voiced his concern over the presence of foreign
\ninvestigators in the Marriott probe. He said he feared that
\nforeign intelligence agents would have a hand in deciding where
\nthe investigation should go.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the Bali blasts that claimed 202 lives, mostly
\nforeigners, the National Police successfully investigated the
\nbombing with financial and technical assistance from many
\ncountries, especially Australia. Over 30 suspected members of
\nterror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) have been captured and most
\nare currently on trial in Bali.<\/p>\n
In the Marriott investigation, U.S. Federal Bureau of
\nInvestigation (FBI) agents have arrived in the city to help the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Police officers from Germany, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia
\nand Japan have also arrived to assist the police, mostly with
\nforensic work.<\/p>\n
There are no official figures on how many foreign
\ninvestigators are here or soon to be.<\/p>\n
Brig. Gen. Nanan Soekarna, the deputy chief of the Jakarta
\nPolice, confirmed that his investigators were being assisted by
\npolice from many countries.<\/p>\n
\"They came here to examine the crime scene and the case,\" he
\nsaid on Monday.<\/p>\n
According to Nanan, the international investigators would
\n\"study the bombing\" and compare their findings with that of the
\nIndonesian police.<\/p>\n
Separately, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis
\nsaid that the presence of the officers from other countries would
\nbe beneficial for the investigation as \"they have more
\nsophisticated technology\".<\/p>\n
\"They will not become team members of the investigation, they
\nwill only help with forensics. The investigation is being handled
\nby local police,\" he made clear.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-help-may-expose-police-inadequacies-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}