UN officers to assist Bali investigation team

Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

United Nations investigators will join a multinational task force in tracking down the perpetrators of the Bali bomb blasts amid calls for the Indonesian Police to ensure that they have full control and command of the investigation.

The UN investigators will join foreign intelligence officers and investigators from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the United States. Most of the foreign officers have already arrived. Australia has sent a total of 45 investigators, including 17 intelligence officers. Britain has sent four investigators and a source told The Jakarta Post that two of them are the best investigators at Scotland Yard.

Indonesian Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf insisted that the police had full control of the team, which is headed by Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika.

"They (foreign officers) can be considered consultants and experts, but under one command, which is the (Indonesian) police."

Meanwhile, chairman of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, stated on Thursday that the involvement of foreign intelligence officers in the investigation into the bombing should be done in coordination with Indonesia's security authorities.

"There is no problem with involving foreign intelligence officers, but they must remain under the control of and work in coordination with our own officers so that there is a clear limit to their authority," Hasyim said in Malang, East Java.

Such a big team has also raised questions over effective coordination and clearly defined duties, as well as the information sharing mechanism among team members.

Responding to questions, Saleh refused to give clear-cut answers, saying: "The point is that all the officers are coordinating with one other in the field under the control of the National Police.

The investigative team is tasked with identifying the perpetrators of the blasts -- considered as the world's deadliest strikes since the Sept. 11 attacks -- and bringing them to justice.

The explosion in two nightclubs in Bali's busy district of Kuta has caused the loss of at least 183 lives, mostly foreign tourists. One of the clubs, the Sari Club, was an exclusive club for foreigners only.

So far the multinational investigative team has held several discussions on the case, during which they exchanged information.

"They're bringing their own data, which could be helpful in providing some clues in the probe," Saleh said.