SE Asia takes bold steps against terrorism
SE Asia takes bold steps against terrorism
Agence France-Presse, Hanoi
Southeast Asia has made "excellent progress" in tackling global terrorism but the threat of future attacks in the region remains all too real, a top U.S. anti-terrorism official said on Friday.
Cofer Black, the State Department's coordinator for counter- terrorism, declined to reveal any specific details of potential targets but said "the threat picture is a very dynamic one".
"In terms of Southeast Asia, unfortunately the scourge of terrorism has certainly reached this area of the world and has been influenced and exacerbated by movements outside the region," he told reporters.
Black stressed that close cooperation between all countries in Southeast Asia and across the globe was the only solution to combating terrorism.
"I would emphasize this is a task that can only be accomplished if we work together," he said.
"However, I think excellent progress has been made. All the countries in the region are aware of this threat and are pulling their resources together."
His comments came on the final day of a five-day gathering of law enforcement officials from the 10 ASEAN countries and "dialog partners" Japan, China, South Korea, the European Union (EU) and the United States.
Southeast Asia has found itself one of the key battle grounds of the war on terrorism ever since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
On Oct. 12 last year, bomb blasts on the Indonesian island of Bali, which were blamed on regional terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), killed 202 people from 21 countries.
Black, the former director of the CIA's counter-terrorist cell, denied accusations from human rights groups that the war on terror has given some regimes a pretext to crack down on political and religious opponents.
"That is incorrect. It is a fabrication. The business of counter-terrorism is to stop terrorists from hurting other people," he said.
"We are very mindful that we must pay scrupulous attention to human rights, the protection of innocent life, the protection of civilians. We strongly advocate the freedom of political expression as well as religious expression.