Singapore urges Indonesia to stamp out terrorism
Singapore urges Indonesia to stamp out terrorism
Michael Perry, Reuters, Sydney, Australia
Singapore urged Indonesia on Thursday to track down and prosecute
those responsible for the Bali bombings, saying a failure to do
so would send the wrong message to the world about Jakarta's
attitude towards militants.
Singapore Defense Minister Tony Tan said the Bali bombings,
while a tragedy, provided Indonesia with an opportunity to crack
down on terrorism, just as the Sept. 11 attacks in the United
States prompted Washington to declare a "war on terror".
"We hope that the Indonesian government will prosecute this
(Bali) investigation vigorously, get to the bottom of it, find
out who is responsible and the culprits punished," Tan told a
joint news conference with Australia's defense minister.
"Because if you don't do that you are sending a signal to
terrorist groups, to the rest of the world, to Indonesians, about
your attitude towards terrorism," Tan said in Sydney.
"We feel that the Indonesian government will recognize the
necessity now after the Bali attack on October 12 to show (it) is
against terrorism...that they are determined to stamp out
terrorism and terrorists within Indonesia," he said.
On Oct. 12, two bombs ripped through nightclubs in Bali's Kuta
beach killing more than 180 people, the majority foreign
tourists. No one has claimed responsibility.
Prior to the Bali bombings Indonesia, the world's most
populous Muslim nation, was seen by regional security analysts as
resisting international pressure to tackle Islamic extremists.
Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed emergency
regulations on Oct. 18 giving authorities wider powers to combat
terrorism. But before that, draft anti-terror legislation had
languished for months amidst political wrangling.
Parliament still has not passed the bill.
Indonesian police on Wednesday arrested the owner of a minivan
packed with explosives behind the biggest of the blasts that
ripped through the nightclubs. Police have also issued sketches
of four suspects.
Foreign governments suspect the Southeast Asian Muslim
extremist group Jamaah Islamiah (JI), declared a terrorist
organization by the United Nations, was behind the Bali bombings,
but Indonesian police say they have no evidence linking JI.
Indonesian police have arrested Abu Bakar Bashir, a radical
Muslim cleric alleged to be JI's spiritual leader, for
questioning about church bombings in 2000 and an alleged plot to
kill the Indonesian president.
Police have not tied him to the Bali attacks and Bashir denies
any wrongdoing or links to Jamaah Islamiah.
Tan said it was pointless being "passive" and merely trying to
defend installations. He called on nations to be vigorous and
proactive, citing Singapore's arrest of 31 suspected JI
extremists who planned seven truck bombs in the island state.
Tan said Asian nations needed to cooperate militarily, share
intelligence and enhance regional counter-terrorism capabilities,
but he stopped short of endorsing joint-military operations.
"In the past terrorist attacks were sporadic and had different
agenda. We are now faced with a terrorist threat which is
strategic in objective and global in its operations," he said.
"In the light of this new threat it is not possible for one
country to defeat the threat alone because the operations of
these terrorist groups are multi-national. Therefore we need
cooperation amongst countries."