ASEAN must compromise to fight terrorism
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) need solid legal rulings to support antiterror cooperation if they wish to conduct an effective crackdown on transnational terrorists, observers said.
They suggested that ASEAN countries should agree on at least extradition of terror suspects, trials conducted near the site of the crime, a uniform trial system throughout ASEAN and private expertise outsourcing to combat terrorism.
Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Hermawan Sulistyo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and Abdul Khaliq Ahmad of the National Awakening Party (PKB) are among those who proposed such cooperation.
They were commenting on the recent ASEAN police meeting where it was pledged on Wednesday that they would boost ties by setting up a task force and sharing resources after an attack.
"Terrorism is a transnational crime, so every country must combat the crime beyond their regular practices. They must take extraordinary measures," Kusnanto told the Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said an extradition agreement among the ASEAN countries was recommended for fighting transnational crimes and uprooting terrorist networks operating in the region.
"Such an extradition is necessary as terrorist suspects may not be arrested or charged under a terrorism act in countries other than that of the actual crime," Kusnanto said.
He also said extradition of suspects to the country where they committed acts of terror was important to collect solid evidence and build a comprehensive reconstruction of the crime.
However, such extraditions could only be realized with cooperation among ministries of justices, not by the police, Kusnanto said.
Hermawan agreed with Kusnanto.
He said the recent cooperation among ASEAN police lacked both reform in the current criminal justice system in ASEAN member countries and involvement of public experts.
Improvement in the criminal justice system must include an obligatory extradition of terrorist suspects and harmony of trial systems adopted in ASEAN member countries, according Hermawan, who is helping the National Police in investigating the Bali bombing.
The involvement of experts, such as in telecommunications and the mass media, in combating terrorists could greatly assist the police in unraveling the terrorist networks, Hermawan said.
"The police can't crack down on terrorists alone," he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad said despite the imperfect cooperation, the recent accord among ASEAN police should be supported.
"By supporting them, we hope they can continuously develop the cooperation on such a level that we expect, including improvement in the justice system," he said.
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said at the ASEAN police gathering that when terrorists attack one member country, assistance from other ASEAN countries should be at its disposal in the form of identifying, pursuing and apprehending suspects, examining witnesses, searching for and seizing evidence, evacuating and treating victims and providing forensic expertise.