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| Southeast Asia |
| Counter-Terrorism Conference Starts Monday |
| 2007-03-02 |
| Jakarta, 2 March (AKI) - Representatives of the foreign ministries of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Australia will join their Indonesian counterparts for a two-day ministerial level counter-terrorism conference which begins in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on March 5. The conference includes discussions on how governments respond to the radicalization of segments of their populations and to mass casualties from terrorist attacks. A spokesperson of the Indonesian Foreign ministry said that the conference is a follow-up to a Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism held in Bali in February 2004. Southeast Asia is known as ‘The Second Front’ in the global war on terror. The region is host to several terror organisations, the most dangerous of which is Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), an Indonesia-based group that aims to create a pan-Asian Islamic caliphate. JI is deemed responsible for most of the bloodiest attacks that have occurred in the region in the last few years, including the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people. A better awareness and a much improved international cooperation have lately scored significant successes for the regional authorities against the Islamic radicals, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines where the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) operates. ASG is an organization affiliated to JI. The regional fight against terror was stepped up last January when a Convention on Counter Terrorism was signed by the 10-member countries of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) at the ASEAN Regional Forum summit held in Cebu, Philippines. The accord commits member states to sharing information, particularly in relaying 'early warnings' - as well as taking measures to curb the financing of terrorism. It also provides a legal basis to extradite terror suspects in the absence of bilateral treaties and urges governments to strengthen their readiness to deal with chemical and biological weapons, as well as nuclear and cyber terrorism. Moreover, the accord underlines the need for cooperation to ensure effective border controls. In accordance with Southeast Asia’s penchant for a softer approach to the war on terror, the accord guarantees 'fair treatment' for terrorist suspects, and calls for the use of inter-faith dialogue as a counter-terrorism tool. |
| Posted by:Steve |