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.