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."