Region's responsibility as front line against terror

Region's responsibility as front line against terror

The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo

The car bomb that ripped through a hotel in downtown Jakarta
was set off in broad daylight, killing and injuring many innocent
bystanders.

It seemed as if the terrorists were directing their fury at
the lunchtime crowd in the Indonesian capital. The bomb exploded
in front of a ritzy, American-owned hotel. More than 10 people,
including a Dutch citizen, were killed. About 150 people were
injured. The scene was one of utter carnage.

It occurred while memories are still fresh of the terrorist
bombing in the resort island of Bali last October. The toll there
exceeded 200.

Indonesian authorities believe the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), an
Islamic militant organization, was behind both blasts. There are
suspicions the Jakarta attack was timed to coincide with the Aug.
7 sentencing of one of the perpetrators of the Bali carnage.

Indonesia is a mishmash of diverse ethnic groups, religions
and languages, and hot spot of all sorts of unrest, including the
escalating separatist movement in Aceh, northern Sumatra.

We earnestly hope the Indonesian government will be completely
thorough in its investigation. At the same time, we believe the
government must review its terrorist countermeasures as a matter
of urgency. After Bali, the government adopted a hard-line policy
of rounding up individuals suspected of having anything to do
with terrorist activity. The government should carefully examine
where flaws existed in the system that allowed the attack to take
place.

JI is thought to be linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
The vice president of Indonesia noted the Jakarta blast was
intended to sabotage U.S. interests.

One cause for concern is that it occurred against a backdrop
of mounting anti-American sentiments in Indonesia. The hotel in
question is owned by a major U.S. hotel chain, and patronized
frequently by U.S. Embassy staff.

The Iraq war has made the United States an even more inviting
target of terrorist attack. This is really alarming.

Lately, there have been a spate of bomb blasts across
Southeast Asia, in the Philippines and Malaysia, for example. And
with the arrests of JI members in Thailand and Cambodia, the
region has come to resemble a front line in the international war
on terrorism.

Some sources point out that terrorist groups have begun to tie
up with Asian drug and smuggling rings to facilitate the flow of
funds and weapons from the Middle East and other regions. These
criminal organizations are believed to have ties to certain
corrupt military officers. The problems run quite deep.

To crack down on these activities, law enforcement must be
coordinated most carefully around the world. A foreign ministers'
meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has labeled
counterterrorism a priority agenda for the region. Among steps
considered, the meeting has proposed sharing investigative
information and establishing a counterterrorist center. These
steps should be strengthened.

But also not to be forgotten are medium- and long-term plans
to address the problems that give rise to terrorism, such as
poverty and the intensification of antagonism between outlying
communities and the national capital.

These developments are as much Japan's business as anyone
else's. Quite definitely, Japan must cooperate fully with its
Asian neighbors in fighting terrorism.