U.S. military official visits Sabah

U.S. military official visits Sabah

MALAYSIA: The top U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific
region visited a remote Malaysian province on Tuesday that
Washington says faces security risks from al-Qaeda-linked groups
operating in the nearby southern Philippines.

Adm. Thomas Fargo was holding talks with Malaysia's military
chief Gen. Zahidi Zainuddin and touring military facilities in
Malaysia's Sabah state, on Borneo island, the U.S. Embassy in
Kuala Lumpur said.

The talks focused on "close, combined U.S.-Malaysian
cooperation in defeating terrorism" and briefings on Malaysian
security operations in the area, an embassy statement said.

Last month, the U.S. State Department reissued warnings to
Americans in this predominantly Muslim country that terror
attacks similar to last October's nightclub bombings in Bali,
Indonesia, were still possible in other Southeast Asian nations.
--AP

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Aglance-S'pore-rights
Singapore defends detentions under internal security law
JP/11/ASEAN

S'pore defends detentions under ISA law

SINGAPORE: Singapore defended on Tuesday the jailing of 31
suspected Islamic militants under a tough internal security law,
refuting criticism from Amnesty International that it violates
their right to a fair trial.

The London-based human rights watchdog said last week in its
2002 annual report that the Internal Security Act (ISA) "violates
the right to a fair and public trial and the right to be presumed
innocent until proved guilty according to law".

The 31 suspects, alleged to be members of the Southeast Asian
terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), are accused of involvement in
plots to blow up the U.S. Embassy, other foreign targets and
vital public facilities in Singapore.

They have been held under the ISA since their arrests between
December 2001 and August last year, following the September 2001
attacks in the U.S. --AFP

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Aglance-Japan-diplomacy
Southeast Asian heads to visit Japan this month
JP/11/ASEAN
Southeast Asian heads to visit Japan

JAPAN: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad,
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Indonesian
President Megawati Soekarnoputri will visit Japan separately this
month for talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the
foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Mahathir will begin a four-day visit on Tuesday and Arroyo
will stay three days from Wednesday, the ministry said. The two
will also speak at a Tokyo symposium.

Megawati will make a state visit to Japan from June 22 to June
25 for talks with Koizumi, the ministry said. --DPA

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Aglance-US-Myanmar-sanction
Bush imposes sanctions on Colombia, Myanmar rebels
JP/11/ASEAN

Sanctions imposed on Myanmar rebels

UNITED STATES: President George W. Bush barred U.S. banks on
Monday from doing business with rebel armies in Myanmar (Burma)
and Colombia as part of an expanded crackdown on what the White
House called narco-terrorism.

The new sanctions were imposed under the 1999 "Kingpin Act",
which targets "significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their
organizations and operatives".

For the first time, foreign groups were targeted for sanctions
under the act, including Burma's United Wa State Army, an ethnic
minority militia in northern Myanmar allied to the country's
military rulers.

The action bars U.S. banks and financial institutions from
doing business with the suspected drug traffickers and dealers,
or with any businesses they control. Any American who does
business with them could face up to 30 years' imprisonment and
US$5 million in fines. --Reuters

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Aglance-Philippines-rebel
Philippines says captures Abu Sayyaf kidnapper
JP/11/ASEAN

RP captures Abu Sayyaf kidnapper

PHILIPPINES: A middle-ranking leader of the Abu Sayyaf linked to
the kidnapping of three Americans was captured on Tuesday in the
southern Philippines, the military said.

Kalaw Jaljalis, who carries a 500,000-peso (US$9,400) bounty
on his head, was seized in a remote village on the island of
Jolo, a hotbed of banditry and insurgency.

The military said in a statement that Jaljalis stands charged
with murder and dozens of counts of kidnapping.

Army Brig. Gen. Romeo Tolentino told reporters the Abu Sayyaf
leader was involved in the kidnapping of missionary couple Martin
and Gracia Burnham, and Guillermo Sobero, all Americans.

The Burnhams had been based in the Philippines for 15 years
when they were kidnapped -- along with Sobero and 17 Filipinos --
from a resort on Palawan island in May 2001 while celebrating
their 18th wedding anniversary. Sobero and several of the
Filipinos were later beheaded. Martin Burnham was killed during
an army operation in June. --Reuters