RI seeks united ASEAN action against terrorism

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia called on fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday to join hands in fighting international terrorism.

Speaking to reporters on her flight home from a whirlwind tour of nine ASEAN capitals, Megawati said the region should forge cooperation on ways to handle the threats of terrorism and illegal arms trade across the region.

"We need to prevent the spread of terrorism," she said in a media briefing on board a Garuda plane from Kuala Lumpur.

She emphasized the need for all top intelligence officers of the 10 ASEAN governments to meet before the ASEAN leaders held their summit in Bandar Sri Begawan in November.

Megawati discussed the threat of international terrorism with several leaders during her tour of ASEAN capitals.

The head of Indonesia's National Intelligence Agency (BIN), A.M. Hendropriyono, admitted last week that Indonesia had become vulnerable to the activities of international terrorist groups, although he did not name any particular organization.

Hendropriyono said given that such organizations usually worked with local groups, the government's counter-terrorist operations should aim at these local terrorist organizations.

The governments of the United States, Britain and Australia in their travel warnings have cautioned their citizens living in or visiting Indonesia of the possibility of them being targeted by international terrorist organizations.

The Malaysian Police this month arrested one of its citizens in Kuala Lumpur on accusations that he planted the explosives that went off at Atrium Plaza, a busy shopping mall in Central Jakarta on Aug. 1.

Six people were injured in the blast, including the man who was later arrested by the Malaysian authorities on his return. The authorities said the suspect was a member of the Malaysian Mujahidin Group, a radical Muslim group.

Visiting British Foreign Minister Ben Bradshaw meanwhile said the travel warning, which remains in force, was not intended to discourage Britons, including investors, from coming to Indonesia.

"We are not advising anyone against travel to Indonesia. We are simply advising our citizens to be on guard as they go about their business and travel," he told a media briefing held at the British Council.

Bradshaw, who ended his three-day visit on Tuesday and was heading for East Timor, defended the decision by the British Embassy in Jakarta to block the access road leading to the embassy as a precaution against a possible terrorist attack.

Admitting that the measure had inconvenienced some people, he insisted that the barrier was erected with the consent of the Indonesian authorities.

Both the Jakarta government and police have publicly professed ignorance about the road block, saying they were never asked by the British Embassy.

"These arrangements are considered necessary and we have the goodwill of the Indonesian government in implementing them," Bradshaw said. (dja/07)