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.