RI, Singapore win U.S. kudos on terrorism<\/p>\n
Stephen Collinson, Agence France-Presse, Washington<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Singapore won U.S. plaudits for their role in the
\nU.S. anti-terror campaign on Wednesday, but a new government
\nreport warned that Islamic militant group Jamaah Islamiyah still
\nposed a huge threat in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Singapore and Indonesia were once at opposite ends of the
\nspectrum of U.S. anti-terror assessments, but Jakarta's stock has
\nrisen significantly here after it snared suspects thought to have
\nbeen involved in the Bali bomb attack last year which killed 202
\npeople.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia made great strides in bringing perpetrators of the
\nBali bombings to justice and exposing the scale and deadliness of
\nthe terrorist group Jamaah Islamiya (JI), believed to be
\nresponsible for the bombings," said the "Patterns of Global
\nTerrorism" report for 2002 released by the State Department.<\/p>\n
"The Indonesian police cooperated closely with other regional
\npartners in the Bali investigation and widened the investigation
\nbeyond the Bali attacks to look at JI in general, often through
\ncooperation with other nations in the region."<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell last week said Indonesia
\nhad finally awakened to the threat of terrorism within its
\nborders, after JI leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir went on trial for
\ntreason.<\/p>\n
The United States imposed fierce pressure on President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri to track down on terror suspects after
\nlaunching its anti-terror war after the Sept. 11 attacks.
\nSingapore, something of a star pupil in the U.S. campaign,
\nwallowed in fresh praise as the report lauded two swoops against
\nJI.<\/p>\n
"With superb law enforcement skill and effective cooperation
\nwith other nations, Singapore's two successful operations
\ndoubtless saved lives and prevented incalculable physical
\ndamage."<\/p>\n
The assessment was issued as Singapore Trade and Industry
\nMinister George Yeo met senior U.S. officials ahead of a talks
\nbetween Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and President George W. Bush
\nnext week which will see the adoption of a landmark bilateral
\ntrade pact.<\/p>\n
"We discovered to our horror that right beneath our feet after
\nSeptember 11, the JI network," Yeo told reporters.<\/p>\n
"We, in cooperation with other countries in Southeast Asia
\nacted with dispatch to root out this network and to suppress it."<\/p>\n
The Philippines, also firmly in the U.S. camp, was also
\npraised, while Myanmar, pilloried for its human rights record and
\nsuppression of a democracy movement, earned a rare nod of
\napproval from Washington.<\/p>\n
Yangon "has taken a solid stance against international
\nterrorism ... authorities frequently make public statements
\nsupportive of international counterterrorism efforts."<\/p>\n
The report approved China's continued cooperation "with the
\nUnited States in the war on terrorism."<\/p>\n
But despite growing Southeast Asian cooperation on anti-terror
\nefforts, the threat remains grave, warned the report.<\/p>\n
"Much work remains to be done so that the region's
\ncounterterrorism regimes can deal effectively with the threat
\nthat terrorists continue to pose to East Asian nations," it said.<\/p>\n
"While regional nations did much to expose, arrest, and
\ndisrupt JI in 2002, the organization continues to function, and
\nmany of its leaders remain at large.<\/p>\n
"JI and other terrorist groups continue to pose significant
\nthreats to the region, and only through increasing collaboration
\nand cooperation can those threats be met."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-singapore-win-us-kudos-on-terrorism-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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