New steps to fight terror

New steps to fight terror

Long a chink in the armor in Southeast Asia's war against
terror, Indonesia's move to set up a new counter-terrorism center
with Australian backing will go a long way to addressing the
problem. Previously hamstrung by lack of money, there are now
hopes that the Indonesian police and intelligence agencies will
be better equipped to monitor terrorist activity and make the
region more secure.

Australia will spend US$30 million (S$50 million) over the
next five years to establish the new agency in Jakarta to train
police from Asia-Pacific countries in counter-terrorism skills as
well as to track terrorists. One of the main aims of the counter-
terrorism conference in Bali last week was to keep the campaign
high on the agenda. The key message is that countries can ensure
their own safety only when they do not let their guard down.

This means working closely with others not just to exchange
intelligence, but also to overcome the institutional hurdles that
limit collaboration on security issues. Steps are being taken in
this direction. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
noted that the Bali conference got 'the Asia-Pacific region to
think together as a broader region on how to handle this issue of
terrorism'.

Much remains to be done. For starters, creating a common legal
framework to fight terrorism will not be easy. It will take time
to remove the institutional obstacles to extradition. Given the
diversity of the legal systems in the region, it is best that
knotty issues such as extradition be resolved at a bilateral
level.

However desirable, a multilateral extradition treaty is not a
realistic proposition at this juncture. But this should not
prevent the Pacific Rim countries from exchanging timely
intelligence and sharing evidence. The Bali conference has set up
a working group to study the issues on jurisdiction.

New ideas, such as the proposal to create a legal framework to
facilitate the prosecution of cross-border terrorist crimes in
South-east Asia, should be explored.

While the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network has been
crippled with the arrest of some 200 operatives, other key
members are still at large and new attacks can be expected. To be
sure, the Indonesians are painfully aware after the bombings in
Bali and Jakarta that JI remains a dangerous threat. But there
are fears that Indonesia is still not sufficiently focused in the
war against the JI remnants because its political leaders do not
want to be seen to be too tough on militant Islamic groups in an
election year.

Anything that Jakarta does to remove the nagging doubts will
boost its own security and regional confidence. On a practical
level, Asia-Pacific countries can shore up their defenses by
tightening up airport and maritime security, securing their
borders, and stopping the movement of arms and cash by
terrorists. Civilian targets can also be hardened with more
protection.

-- The Straits Times, Singapore