RI vulnerable to infiltration by int'l terrorists: BIN chief<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M.
\nHendropriyono warned on Thursday that Indonesia is vulnerable to
\ninfiltration by international terrorists.<\/p>\n
"Terrorism has a tendency to flourish in a country which is in
\ntransition toward democracy. So, democratization should be
\ncoupled with the promotion of surveillance," he said.<\/p>\n
"We must be alert and be prepared. It is our responsibility
\n(to fight terrorism)," he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after addressing a coordinating meeting
\nfor Indonesian governors, Hendropriyono said that as it was
\ndifficult to curb international terrorism within the country, his
\nintelligence agency would focus on fighting its domestic
\naccomplices.<\/p>\n
He said that international terrorism would only be effective
\nin the country if it had local players.<\/p>\n
"Therefore, these organizations or groups (linked to
\ninternational terrorists) should be eliminated," he said.<\/p>\n
The intelligence chief, however, refused to divulge
\ninformation on domestic organizations or groups suspected of
\ninvolvement with foreign terrorism.<\/p>\n
"If there are indications, we will investigate. We must
\npromote awareness of suspected groups at home, because
\ninternational terrorists cannot do anything here without domestic
\naccomplices," he said.<\/p>\n
The possible presence of international terrorists here came to
\nthe surface when the security officials uncovered that a series
\nof attacks in the country recently were allegedly linked to
\nforeign terrorist groups.<\/p>\n
Due to these concerns the U.S. embassy in Jakarta warned
\nAmericans in the country of the possibility that "extremist
\nelements" could launch anti-American attacks here.<\/p>\n
A similar warning was issued by the British embassy here,
\nreminding its citizens in the country that they may be the target
\nof a "terrorist threat."<\/p>\n
The intelligence officials also implied that the terrorism
\nissue was linked to radical groups in the Middle East as can be
\nseen from the many explosives and weapons smuggled here.<\/p>\n
On the increasing arms smuggling into the country,
\nHendropriyono mentioned the importance of stepping up cooperation
\nwith the intelligence agencies of neighboring countries.<\/p>\n
"It is not practical to fence our house to prevent mice from
\ncoming in. It is the nests of the mice that should be found and
\ndestroyed," he said, citing that he had started fostering
\nintelligence cooperation with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and
\nthe Philippines, including promoting sea patrols, in an effort to
\nstem terrorism and arms smuggling.<\/p>\n
Hendropriyono also said that the terrorists here mostly
\ntargeted American interests in the country.<\/p>\n
"Therefore we must improve the performance of our intelligence
\nagency, as we are responsible for anything that happens to
\nAmericans and their assets here," Hendropriyono said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Hari Sabarno told
\nreporters that the provincial administrations had been urged to
\nimprove the performance of their intelligence activities.<\/p>\n
"The local administrations constitute a potential target of
\nterrorism activities due to their weak intelligence facilities.
\nThe presence of Pak Hendro in this meeting is aimed at motivating
\nthe governors to improve their intelligence activities, not only
\nfor the sake of security and political reasons, but also for the
\neconomy. (imn\/tso)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-vulnerable-to-infiltration-by-intl-terrorists-bin-chief-1447893297",
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