Unity against terrorism

Unity against terrorism

Cross-border terrorism is like a cancer. Individual action by
some countries will only strike a portion of it and like a
cancerous cell, it will rear its ugly head in other places. For
the scourge to be excised completely, joint action by the
countries in the region is an imperative.

This explains why the move by ASEAN to link anti-terrorism
activities among member countries and co-ordinate with one
another is seen as a vital requisite to both homeland and
regional security.

As it is, there have been unsavory reports on the alleged
terrorist cells in some member countries with ties to Saudi
dissident Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. This has bestowed
the region with the unwanted sobriquet of a haven for Muslim
militancy. Malaysia too has been subjected to vilification by
sections of the U.S.-controlled media. Such negative portrayals
threaten to devastate the region's tourism industry and deter the
much-needed foreign investment.

This underscores the increasing importance of a joint counter-
terrorism effort, one that must be deepened in terms of
strategies and enlarge the relations among the countries in a
manner perhaps unimaginable in the days of the founding fathers.
No country can go at it alone.

The lack of gumption by one will impede another's efforts to
extinguish the terrorists and the seeds that conceive such terror
-- the misguided fanatics and deviationists. Indonesia is soft on
its militants, some who tried to inspire fanaticism, fuel Osama-
type fervor and violate the laws of the neighboring countries.
Difficult as it is to oversee an archipelago of 13,677 islands,
Indonesia must exert tighter administrative reins in tackling the
menace of terrorism and in ensuring its citizens respect the
borders of other countries.

That said, the strategic co-operation and relations among
ASEAN members are assuming a new and significant dimension: one
which perhaps necessitates a relook at, or at least, a re-
modification of its long cherished non-interference stand.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur