|
|
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesia sets up anti-terror desk
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's top security minister, Bambang Yudhoyono, will co-ordinate a national anti-terrorism desk in a bid to synchronize the republic's latest security efforts. "This desk will have an intelligence section, law enforcement coordination section, public relations and information section, planning and evaluation section as well as an international cooperation section," official news agency Antara reports Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Yudhoyono as saying. The intelligence section would coordinate intelligence operations so they would work in accordance with the law, while the law enforcement coordination section would deal with investigations and lawsuits. The body has not, however, been authorized to implement policies independently and is only to coordinate other agencies' activities in the anti-terror fight, he said. Indonesia had been accused by the United States and other nations of dragging its feet on a promised clampdown on militant Islamic groups. The recent arrest of Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is seen by Western governments as a crucial test of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's resolve to crack down on Muslim extremists. That pressure has increased in the wake of the Bali bomb attacks of October 12 which killed at least 180 people. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country, and while the majority practice a moderate form of the religion, its government has tended to take a soft approach to radical Islamic groups. This is partly to avoid a backlash from moderates who might perceive any crackdown as a response to foreign pressure. Speaking in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Sunday, Megawati told Indonesian media the measures her government were taking post Bali were responsible actions and not due to pressure from the US government. "This is my question: If you are the government, what will you do? Will you do nothing? With such a bombing tragedy in Bali and you do nothing, you will be condemned," she said. Reuters contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
