International Anti-terror Conference held in Bali
Bali (AsiaNews)- Ministers and senior officials from 33 countries are convening today and tomorrow for an anti-terror conference sponsored jointly by Australia and Indonesia at the Bali Grand Hyatt Beach Resort. The choice for the site is quite symbolic: on October 12th 2002 in Bali, 202 people were killed in two terrorist-related nightclub bombings.
Officiating at the conference, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri pledged that, while Indonesia has generated more terrorists than any other nation in Asia, the security personnel of her country would never stop their hunt for them. She also expressed concern about possibilities of new attacks in the future.
Australian minister Alexander Downer announced the opening of a trans-national crime centre in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, to be run cooperatively by Indonesia and Australia, where, according to Bali police chief, Inspector General I. Made Mangku Pastika said, anti-terrorist skills such as "forensic training, strike forces, bomb disposal units and response training for sabotage and hostage-taking" will occur.
High priority of the conference is given to combating the Al-Qaida linked terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which has an estimated 2,000 operatives on the loose throughout Southeast Asia, and reportedly finds easy targets for recruits among religious Muslims. Till now, efforts to disband the terrorist organization and thwart their activity have been minimally successful. " We have disrupted the JI network through the capture and detention of well over 200 JI members, but we have not disabled them. Key operatives are still at large and JI remains highly resilient and committed to its cause. It is planning for the long term", using "false identities, money laundering, fraud and extortion as tools of the trade" Downer told delegates, including US Attorney general John Ashcroft who is scheduled to meet with Sukarnoputri.
A senior Philippine official, Rodolfo Mendoza, noted, "What remains is their fanaticism. That won't change. They will look for the day when they can come back and plan for something bigger. They want to surpass 9/11."
The conference is expected to boost cooperation among the countries for gathering intelligence, and to offer new anti-terror aid to developing nations, like Indonesia. Australia and Indonesia signed an accord today for the exchange of financial intelligence to fight money laundering (MH)
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