ASEAN SECRETARIAT
JAKARTA
INDONESIA

NEWS RELEASE

22 JANUARY 2003

ASEAN POLICE TO SET UP ANTI-TERRORISM TASK FORCE

JAKARTA (Jan 22) – Southeast Asian police have proposed to establish an anti-terrorism task force in each country to strengthen cooperation in curbing this menace and to collaborate on post-terrorist attacks.

Indonesian Police Chief Da’i Bachtiar told some 100 delegates at the close of a three-day ASEAN Workshop on Combating Terrorism that the regional police chiefs support the move for a task force to enhance communications and to provide assistance to member countries in identifying, pursuing and arresting suspects.

The police chiefs of ASEAN have also agreed to cooperate in the examination of witnesses including searching and seizing evidence, evacuating and treating victims, as well as conducting forensic examinations and criminal investigations.

“Each ASEAN country shall have a task force to maintain close communications with each other and cooperate in the development of threat and risk assessments that will facilitate the allocation of resources and assistance in response to a terrorist attack,” said Mr. Da’i Bachtiar.

The success of the Joint Task Force for investigations on the Bali bomb blasts and the cooperation between the Indonesian National Police and the police forces of other countries to arrest the perpetrators and uncover their networks, prompted the delegates at the workshop to support the move to establish a similar facility for ASEAN countries.  

In a paper presented at the workshop, the Indonesian government said acts of terrorism had been caused by separatism, radicalism and foreign elements. Last year, 49 bomb attacks occured in Indonesia, compared to 46 attacks in 2001.

Previous administrations had dealt with the problems through open and covert military and intelligence operations and negotiations. But the government acknowledged the need for a legal infrastructure including an anti-terrorism law and the institutional capacity to combat terrorism by empowering the intelligence agencies, police, military, immigration officials and members of the judiciary.

Mr. Da’i said the Indonesian government has also proposed that a national legislation be introduced to criminalize acts of terrorism and make them extraditable offences.

Malaysia’s Undersecretary of Security and Public Order Hamzah Mohd. Rus said extradition “is the key aspect in apprehension and prosecution of terrorists” and urged ASEAN countries to consider designating terrorism as an extraditable offence if their existing laws do not stipulate it as such.

Singapore’s Senior Assistant Commisioner Ng Seng Liang said it would be difficult to deal with extradition on a multilateral basis among ASEAN countries due to different legal systems. He said it would be more efficient to handle the issue on a bilateral basis.

Mr. Hamzah also criticized the views of some countries advocating the use of pre-emptive strikes on terrorist suspects in another nation to protect their own citizens, saying the move would contravene laws respecting a country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“Eliminating the leaders and their groups may not guarantee that no other terrorists will be borne,” said Mr. Hamzah. “While the fight against the known or suspected terrorists should continue, we should act to eliminate the causes...and reduce the attraction of acts of terror for those who see no means of redress for their own suffering.”

Indonesian Police Chief Da’i said initiatives from the workshop will be submitted for consideration to the upcoming Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime to be held in Hanoi in June.

ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Ahmad Mokhtar Selat said the workshop, which has brought together law enforcement officials and anti-terrorism experts from ASEAN and its dialogue partners in the Asia-Pacific, will further strengthen the working relationship among these players, but he stressed that the regional and international community must strive further to stamp out terrorism.

“Unilateralism, name-calling, discriminatory travel advisory and the like will not help eradicate the problem,” said Mr. Mokhtar. “Similarly, force alone will not bring the desired result. A holistic approach involving the battle of the hearts and minds is needed to fight this scourge.”

ENDS//

Issued by:

GERALDINE GOH
Senior Officer
Public Information
ASEAN SECRETARIAT
Jakarta, Indonesia

Tel: (6221) 724-3372, 726-2991 ext 245
Fax: (6221) 739-8234, 724-3504
Email: [email protected]

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