RI studies U.S. aid to fight terrorism

Indonesia had received several offers of assistance from the United States to help it crack down on the international terrorist movement, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday.

He said that Indonesia was in the process of assessing the proposals on intelligence information exchange, police training courses and training in the banking sector to help track down terrorism funding.

The U.S. has allocated US$10 million for the assistance.

"We are still assessing our limitations, what we need in combating terrorism together with the international community," Hassan told reporters after meeting with the Chief Minister of Australia's Northern Territory, Clare Martin.

The U.S. offered to provide specialized training for both the police and immigration officials to investigate and curb terrorist acts, he said.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said earlier that Indonesia was not under any pressure to step up efforts in investigating terrorist acts, saying that any such efforts would be aimed mainly at addressing national security concerns.

The National Police have yet to identify any terrorist groups operating in the country, with both their chief and the Minister of Defense saying that investigations were still underway.

Indonesia came under the international spotlight recently when a man claiming to be an Indonesian citizen was arrested in the Philippines two weeks ago for his alleged links with the al-Qaeda movement.

Last week, Susilo told reporters that the results of investigations into terrorist links in the country, if any, would be announced soon. --JP