'Poor intelligence work due to lack of coordination'

'Poor intelligence work due to lack of coordination'

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The State Intelligence Body (BIN) has asked for more power in
the war on terror, but an analyst on Friday suggested that
coordination among the country's intelligence institutions was a
better solution to prevent terror attacks.

BIN chairman Hendropriyono, who offered an apology to the
Marriott bombing victims, said late on Thursday that BIN wanted
the power to act, not just to give an early warning to people.

"How can we prevent a certain action from taking place if we
know a suspect but we cannot make an arrest," Hendro said.

Without the power to make an arrest, BIN would be like a
German shepherd dog whose tail was held by its owner so that it
could not run after the target.

Military analyst from the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), Kusnanto Anggoro, however, opposed
Hendro's proposal, saying that an intelligence institution must
not have the authority to make an arrest.

"Their main duty is to give an early warning of possible
attacks, that is all. The police is the only institution that has
the authority to make an arrest," he asserted on Friday, noting
that no arrest should be permitted without convincing evidence.

Instead of asking for more power, Kusnanto said BIN should
play its role in coordinating all intelligence institutions in
the country, as mandated by President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Indonesia has several intelligence institutions, including
BIN, the Indonesian Military's intelligence body (BAIS),
intelligence units at the National Police and the Attorney
General's Office.

Megawati has tasked BIN to coordinate all the works of those
intelligence bodies.

"Actually, there was no way for them not to share information.
Intelligence institutions inform the police of their findings,
they have the authority to make arrests. Otherwise, they could
also report it (the information) directly to the President,"
Kusnanto said.

If the police or the President consider the intelligence
reports about possible attacks are credible enough, they must
share the reports with the public in the form of warnings, such
as travel warnings (usually imposed by western countries).

Hendropriyono admitted the poor coordination among
intelligence institutions in the country.

"It's a disaster and we must support each other in the future
with solid cooperation. How can we have good cooperation if we
blame each other," he told reporters, promising to increase the
cooperation among intelligence institutions.

The crack in relations among intelligence agencies started
when the police separated from the military in 2001, leading to a
drop in the standard of intelligence operations in the country.

And the poor performance of intelligence operations has often
been cited as one of the main factors in the country's failure to
prevent a series of terror attacks, with the latest at JW
Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta that killed 10 people and wounded
149 others.

According to Kusnanto, the lack of coordination was caused by
rivalry among the institutions. Therefore, to forge better
coordination and communications, they must attempt to put aside
their own interests.

"Only if they are able to put aside psychological problems
within themselves, the country's intelligence performance will
improve," Kusnanto said.