RI Discussing Anti-Terror Cooperation with Six Countries
Jakarta (ANTARA
News) - Indonesia
and six other
countries, namely
Poland, Saudi
Arabia, Serbia,
Uzbekistan, Sudan
and Venezuela, are
now discussing a
plan to cooperate
in the fight against
terrorism, a senior
minister said.
Coordinating
Minister for
Political, Legal and
Security Affairs
widodo AS told a
working meeting with
the House of
Representatives (DPR)'s
Commission I
(defense affairs)
that Indonesia had
already concluded
anti-terrorism
cooperation
agreements with
seven countries,
namely Australia,
India, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Romania,
Russia and Egypt.
"Besides that, we
have also
established
cooperation in the
same field with
European Union
nations, the United
States, Canada,
Japan, New Zealand
and countries
grouped in the
Association of South
East Asian Nations
(ASEAN)," Widodo
said adding,
however, the
cooperation with
those countries had
not been formalized
in memorandums of
understanding.
The activities
carried out so far
under the
international
anti-terrorism
cooperation
agreemtns included
training in
crisis-handling
capabilities,
chemical,
biological,
radiological and
nuclear (CBRN)
management,
intelligence,
police, military,
mutual legal
assistance, legal
enforcement and
institutional
capacity and human
resources building.
Within the framework
of ASEAN, Indonesia
signed an ASEAN
Convention on
Counter Terrorism on
January 17, 2007 as
the legal basis for
cooperation to crack
down on terrorism in
the ASEAN region,
the minister said.
"Cooperation with
other countries is
very important
because terrorism is
a very complex
transnational crime
which has to be
faced together based
on UN' Security
Council Resolution
1566/2004 which
calls for member
countries to fully
cooperate in
fighting terrorism,"
he said.
On the potential
threat of terrorism
in Indonesia in
2009, Widodo said
the matter should
continue to be given
careful attention by
all sides because
not all of the
terrorist networks,
such as the one led
by Noordin M Top,
had been crushed.(*)