RI vulnerable to infiltration by int'l terrorists: BIN chief

JAKARTA (JP): National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono warned on Thursday that Indonesia is vulnerable to infiltration by international terrorists.

"Terrorism has a tendency to flourish in a country which is in transition toward democracy. So, democratization should be coupled with the promotion of surveillance," he said.

"We must be alert and be prepared. It is our responsibility (to fight terrorism)," he said.

Speaking to reporters after addressing a coordinating meeting for Indonesian governors, Hendropriyono said that as it was difficult to curb international terrorism within the country, his intelligence agency would focus on fighting its domestic accomplices.

He said that international terrorism would only be effective in the country if it had local players.

"Therefore, these organizations or groups (linked to international terrorists) should be eliminated," he said.

The intelligence chief, however, refused to divulge information on domestic organizations or groups suspected of involvement with foreign terrorism.

"If there are indications, we will investigate. We must promote awareness of suspected groups at home, because international terrorists cannot do anything here without domestic accomplices," he said.

The possible presence of international terrorists here came to the surface when the security officials uncovered that a series of attacks in the country recently were allegedly linked to foreign terrorist groups.

Due to these concerns the U.S. embassy in Jakarta warned Americans in the country of the possibility that "extremist elements" could launch anti-American attacks here.

A similar warning was issued by the British embassy here, reminding its citizens in the country that they may be the target of a "terrorist threat."

The intelligence officials also implied that the terrorism issue was linked to radical groups in the Middle East as can be seen from the many explosives and weapons smuggled here.

On the increasing arms smuggling into the country, Hendropriyono mentioned the importance of stepping up cooperation with the intelligence agencies of neighboring countries.

"It is not practical to fence our house to prevent mice from coming in. It is the nests of the mice that should be found and destroyed," he said, citing that he had started fostering intelligence cooperation with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, including promoting sea patrols, in an effort to stem terrorism and arms smuggling.

Hendropriyono also said that the terrorists here mostly targeted American interests in the country.

"Therefore we must improve the performance of our intelligence agency, as we are responsible for anything that happens to Americans and their assets here," Hendropriyono said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Hari Sabarno told reporters that the provincial administrations had been urged to improve the performance of their intelligence activities.

"The local administrations constitute a potential target of terrorism activities due to their weak intelligence facilities. The presence of Pak Hendro in this meeting is aimed at motivating the governors to improve their intelligence activities, not only for the sake of security and political reasons, but also for the economy. (imn/tso)