Asia-Pacific police to boost ties in anti-terror drive

The Jakarta Post, Kuta, Bali

As the threat of terrorism continues to haunt the region, police from 22 Asian and Pacific nations are holding a two-day meeting in Kuta, Bali, to boost coordination and information-sharing in the global campaign against terrorism.

"We will share our experience in fighting terrorism and will try to find ways to prevent a similar event (terrorist attacks) from taking place in the future," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Monday, the first day of the two-day Conference on Police Response to Terrorism.

Police officers from Australia and the United States are attending the conference.

"Indonesia has a great interest in this meeting as we want to improve our ability to detect terrorism," Da'i was quoted by the Associated Press as saying at the opening ceremony.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, has been hit by series of terrorist attacks blamed on regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which has close links with international terrorist network al-Qaeda set up by Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York. JI is believed to operate in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand.

Scores of suspected JI members have been arrested in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. Indonesian courts have convicted 29 militants for the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

In Bali, police commanders will share experiences on how to investigate terror cases using high-tech equipment such as sophisticated explosives detectors.

"Terrorism relies on international networks. Some groups come and go. (New) groups, of which we have no knowledge, can appear," Da'i said.

Bachtiar also said that Jakarta would soon establish a specialized antiterror office with 24-hour, seven days a week hotlines, enabling Interpol officers worldwide to request information about suspected terrorists.

He stressed that the establishment of a joint intelligence secretariat on terrorism in Jakarta would benefit the country in fighting international terrorism.

"The existence of such a secretariat will make it a lot easier for police and the government to track down and find out any information on local and international terrorist networks," he said.

The idea to establish the joint secretariat, which would involve officers from the Indonesian National Police (INP) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), will be further discussed in February when ministers from both countries convene a conference on combating terrorism in Bali.

"This (the joint secretariat) is still at the conceptual level and will be brought up at the conference," he said.

During the Bali bombing investigation, officers from the INP and the AFP displayed an exemplary level of cooperation and coordination, which led to the arrests of at least 33 members of the terrorist network responsible for the attack, in which at least 202 people were killed, including 88 Australian nationals.

Da'i played down concerns that the existence of such body in Jakarta would provide foreign parties with access to mount unfriendly intelligence operations against Indonesia.

"We should not worry that we will be monitored by other countries. On the contrary, we will gain a lot of advantages by having the joint secretariat here in Indonesia," he assured.

Meanwhile, Interpol executive director Willy Deridder hoped that the conference could strengthen long-term cooperation among the participating members.

"Interpol will support and assist any activity that aims at conducting experience- and information-sharing on methods of combating terrorist networks," he said.