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