Region seeks counterterrorism pledge
Region seeks counterterrorism pledge
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Asia-Pacific countries will seek closer cooperation in the fight
against terror when their delegates meet on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 for
a conference co-hosted by Indonesia and Australia in Bali, where
terrorist attacks claimed at least 202 lives on Oct. 12, 2002.
Expected to finalize the establishment of a counterterrorism
center in Indonesia, 23 countries are slated to attend the
conference.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday
that the conference was expected to result in a joint statement
of commitment to curb terrorism in the region.
"The cooperation that we aim for could take many forms,
depending on the direction of discussion," he said.
Hassan underlined that no countries in the world could fight
terrorism alone and thus, wider cooperation was necessary.
He said the conference would focus on obtaining the commitment
of the 23 participating countries in the war against terror.
The Asia Pacific has been more susceptible to terrorist
attacks in the years since the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the
United States, for example with the Bali blasts, the JW Marriott
Hotel bombing in Jakarta and the recent upheaval in southern
Thailand blamed on the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terrorist
network.
Indonesia and other Southeast Asian states have scores of JI
suspects in detention, but the key suspects in the Bali and
Marriott Hotel bombings and other attacks are still at large.
Among them are Malaysian explosives experts Azahari Husin and
Noordin Mohammad Top, whom Indonesian police suspect are carrying
explosives and planning fresh attacks.
During the regional conference, Australia and Indonesia will
propose the establishment of a counterterrorism center here that
will focus on the practical aspects of the fight against terror.
The center will facilitate intelligence exchange and capacity
building between Asia-Pacific intelligence agencies, and will
complement the existing cooperation among Southeast Asian
countries in exchanging information on terrorist activities.
Indonesia and Australia have co-hosted several conferences on
transnational crimes, particularly people smuggling.
The Bali bombing, in which mostly Australians were killed, has
brought the two countries closer in counterterrorism efforts,
particularly with the Australian Federal Police's indispensable
role in investigating the blasts.
Working hand in hand with the Indonesian National Police, the
cooperation was recognized worldwide as one of the most
successful, yielding the arrest of 35 masterminds and accomplices
within a year.
Most of the terrorists have been sentenced, with the three top
terrorists receiving death sentences.