Govt to form special body to fight terrorism

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government says it will form a special antiterror agency in a move that is hoped will overcome the lack of coordination between authorities and different agencies in trying to prevent future terrorist attacks.

The agency will be supported by "terror desks" set up at the provincial level. These desks may be placed under the authority of governors, Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto said after a Cabinet meeting at the State Palace on Tuesday.

The special antiterror agency would be an expansion of the current antiterror desk managed by the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs,

"The agency is needed to bridge the current lack of coordination between law enforcement agencies in trying to achieve the early detection of terror threats. We expect the planned agency will play a key role in the fight against terrorism," said Widodo.

"The central government cannot handle the fight against terrorism by itself. Provincial administrations must also play a role in this in order for the effort to be effective, since Indonesia is a vast country that needs comprehensive monitoring," he said.

Widodo said the planned agency would coordinate all of the agencies related with the fight against terrorism, including the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Intelligent Agency (BIN).

Intelligence reports from the institutions would be coordinated by the agency for follow-up action in the field, with the agency also supervising all counterterrorism operations.

Widodo said the technical details of the agency would be discussed later with related agencies and ministries. The head of the agency could be drawn from high-ranking officers in the police or TNI, and would be directly responsible to the president.

Asked if the agency would have greater authority to detain or investigate terrorist suspects, Widodo refused to comment, saying the government had not yet worked out those details.

This new plan comes after the recent bombing in a market in Tentena, near Poso, Central Sulawesi. Twenty-one people died in the attack and dozens of others were injured, making it the deadliest bombing in the country since the Bali bombings in 2002.

Separately, regarding the progress of informal talks between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, Finland, Widodo said the talks were progressing.

"There are points in the talks that can be followed up on further. However, any peace settlement will include the condition that GAM accepts special autonomy for Aceh and that it agrees to permanently end the conflict," said Widodo.

Widodo said there were a number of crucial points being discussed in the talks, but the government refused to accommodate GAM's demand for the formation of local political parties and the holding of local elections.

Also discussed at the talks is the possibility of involving member states of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations in monitoring any peace settlement in Aceh. Other countries, including members of the European Union, may also be welcomed to play a role in monitoring any peace agreement.