RI, Australia to open antiterror center<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nDenpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Australia and Indonesia announced on Thursday the planned
\nestablishment of an antiterror center in an effort to fight
\ngroups like the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah.<\/p>\n
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said his country
\nwould give A$38.3 million (US$29.5 million) to the Indonesia
\nCenter for Law Enforcement Cooperation.<\/p>\n
\"We'll be putting A$38.3 million over five years into that
\ncenter,\" he was quoted by AFP as saying on the sidelines of a
\nregional counterterrorism conference on the resort island of
\nBali.<\/p>\n
Downer said Australia was seeking donations from other
\ncountries for the center that would provide information and
\ntraining for cash-strapped governments fighting terror groups.<\/p>\n
An Indonesian figure would head the staff of the center that
\nwill include 20 Australians, most of them federal police
\nofficers, and will be based in Jakarta, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Its task will not only be to help ourselves (Australia and
\nIndonesia) with training, but also others in the region who want
\nto take advantage of this resource,\" he said as quoted by AP.<\/p>\n
The center is expected to be operational by the end of 2004,
\nDowner said, while the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
\nspokesman Marty Natalegawa talked of an earlier start date.<\/p>\n
\"We are talking more of weeks, rather than months, I think. At
\nleast the embryo of the thing,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Downer said the center would not only be helping with the
\ninvestigation of Jamaah Islamiyah, but also its links with al-
\nQaeda and other terrorist organizations like the Abu Sayyaf group
\nin the Philippines.<\/p>\n
The center is expected to offer training in forensics, bomb
\ndisposal and other antiterror techniques, and to provide an
\ninformation clearinghouse.<\/p>\n
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said it
\nwould also be able to provide direct help such as post-blast
\nanalysis after a terrorist attack.<\/p>\n
He said he expected experts at the center to be drawn not only
\nfrom Australia but from around the world. In the last 24 hours he
\nsaid he held \"very fruitful\" discussions with Dutch, British and
\nCanadian officials.<\/p>\n
\"So it would seem that the center has grabbed people's
\nattention and it would seem that it's likely we're going to get
\nsome contributions,\" Keelty said.<\/p>\n
Japanese national police also seem keen to contribute, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Downer said the center would institutionalize the Indonesia-
\nAustralia cooperation that began during the Bali bombing
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
Both countries worked together to probe the Oct. 12, 2002
\nnightclub bombings that killed 202 people, including 88
\nAustralians and 38 Indonesians.<\/p>\n
The teamwork has led to the arrest of most of those
\nresponsible for the bombings and has damaged Jamaah Islamiyah,
\nwhich was also blamed for the Aug. 5, 2003 attack that claimed 12
\nlives at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott Hotel.<\/p>\n
The United States has also provided Indonesia with millions of
\ndollars for antiterror training and equipment, including the
\nestablishment of a special police antiterror squad.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said it
\nwould focus on improving antiterror cooperation in a practical
\nway. \"So far we have only talked about co-operation in spirit and
\ndiscourse but where is the implementation?\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-australia-to-open-antiterror-center-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}