ASEAN, Aussie police back antiterror plan
ASEAN, Aussie police back antiterror plan
Eva C. Komandjaja and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surakarta
Police forces of member countries of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Australian Federal Police agreed to
share intelligence information and simplify bureaucratic
procedures in a bid to enhance efforts in combating terrorism.
At the conclusion of a two-day meeting here between top police
officers of ASEAN countries and Australia, National Police chief
Gen. Sutanto said that collaboration was needed speed up the
response after countries suffered from terrorist attacks.
"It'd be such a pity if our efforts in combating terrorism
should face obstacles such as bureaucratic procedures or other
complicated regulations between countries.
"We need to be fast regardless of the jurisdiction of each
country so that police officers can communicate with their
(overseas) counterparts easily in the future," Sutanto said over
the weekend.
The meeting was attended by Brunei Darussalam Police
commissioner Zainuddin Bin Jalani, Singapore commissioner Khoo
Boon Hui, Philippines National Police director general Arturo C.
Lomibao, Cambodia Police deputy head Lt. Gen. Sok Phai, director
of internal security and public order from the Royal Malaysian
Police Dato Othman bin Talib, Thailand police chief Gen. Pateep
Tanprasert and Australian Police commissioner Mick Keelty.
The increased cooperation between the police forces could be a
good start to improve relations between ASEAN and Australia,
which have weakened during the past several years after Australia
supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Cooperation between the Indonesian and Australian police has
been strengthened after Australia sent its officers to help
Indonesia investigate the first bomb attacks in Bali in 2002,
which killed 202 people including 88 Australians.
In a relatively short time, some of the key perpetrators of
the terror attack were apprehended. The Australian police have
also helped Indonesia investigate the second Bali blast on Oct.
1, which killed 23 people including the three suicide bombers.
That help led to the successful raid on the hiding place of top
terrorist Azahari bin Husin in Batu, East Java on Nov. 9.
Sutanto said the region's top police officers vowed at the
meeting to start large counter-terrorism operations in their
countries as part of the global war against terrorists.
"This is precisely why all of us are together here; to show to
those who would be terrorists that we're committed regardless of
the differences in our cultures, laws and jurisdictions. We'll
work together to defeat them," Australian Police chief Mick
Keelty said.
After performing an autopsy last week, police are still trying
to identify the man who died along with Azahari in Batu.
Two antiterror officers searched on Friday night the room of a
man named Agus Puryanto in his uncle's house in Cemani
subdistrict in Sukoharjo, Central Java. They questioned the
uncle, Afandi Mustofa, on his nephew's religious activities and
seized a number of books and a diary belonging to Agus, a student
of the State Islamic Institute in Surakarta.
Agus moved to Sukoharjo from his hometown Ngawi in East Java
in 1997. Afandi said Agus left his house in August, saying he
would concentrate on his thesis.
"Only yesterday did I hear news of Agus again, after the
police told me he was the man who died along with Azahari during
the Batu raid," Afandi said on Sunday.
The basis of the police's suspicion that Azahari's partner was
Agus has not been made public. The man blew himself up after an
exchange of fire with the police.
Police had initially identified Azahari's partner as the man
who assembled the bombs that exploded on Oct. 1 in three Bali
restaurants.