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.