Counterterrorism center expected before Bali meeting next month
Counterterrorism center expected before Bali meeting next month
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A counterterrorism to be established by Indonesia and Australia
is expected to be up and running before the Regional Ministerial
Meeting on Counterterrorism in early February, an official said
on Thursday.
"The sooner the better, if possible before the ministerial
meeting. We are now in the process of finalizing the
arrangements," said Director General of Multilateral Cooperation
on Political, Social and Security Affairs, Makmur Widodo.
The plan for the counterterrorism center, which will be
located in Indonesia, was agreed on following a period of
unprecedented cooperation between Canberra and Jakarta on
terrorism in the wake of the Oct. 12, 2002, bombings in Bali that
killed 202 people, 88 of whom were Australians.
Makmur said the ministerial meeting was aimed at discussing
joint efforts to curb terrorism in the region, including
cooperation on law enforcement and information exchanges.
The meeting was also expected to result in an agreement on the
establishment of a central forensic laboratory and a training
center for antiterror units.
Twenty-three countries from the Asia Pacific region have been
invited to the two-day ministerial meeting on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5,
which is being co-sponsored by the Indonesian and Australian
governments.
Apart from the participating countries, six international
organizations, and a number of countries from outside the region,
such as the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany,
have been invited to attend as observers.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Indonesian Minister
of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda discussed the plan to co-host
the meeting in August last year.
The announcement of the plan came five days after the bombing
of the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, which left 12 people dead
and 149 others injured.
Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said
the two countries had long being exploring the possibility of co-
hosting such a regional ministerial meeting even before the
Marriott bombing.