RI INTENSIFYING COUNTER-TERRORISM COOPERATION WITH OTHER COUNTRIES

Jakarta, July 21 (ANTARA) - Indonesia continues to intensify cooperation in counter terrorism with a number of countries, said Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono
"But in handling terror cases occurring in Indonesia, cooperation between Indonesian and foreign personnel has to be supervised by Indonesian security authorities," Sudarsono said when opening a post-graduate program of the Defense University here on Tuesday.

He urged all parties to be patient in waiting for the police's investigation into the recent bombings in the Mega Kuningan area, to prevent speculations on the cause of the bomb blasts.

Meanwhile, Ansyaad Mbai, head of the political, legal and security affairs coordinating ministry's anti-terror desk, said Indonesia has so far established cooperation in counter terrorism with a number of countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Turkey.

The counter terrorism cooperation focused on terrorism handling using soft power, without ignoring the possible need to use hard power.

Mbai said the ministry would pursue cooperation in eliminating the radicalization of Islamic teachings which were often misunderstood and misused as the 'legal basis' for terrorist actions.

"We are pursuing the de-radicalization cooperation not only with Pakistan, but also with other moderate Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey. De-radicalization can be implemented by inviting their Muslim scholars to Indonesia, or through books on true Islam," Ansyaad Mbai said.

Mbai recently said fugitive Malaysian-born extremist Noordin M Top was linked to Friday's bombings on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta, which killed nine people and injured 53 others, including foreigners.

"From the modus operandi used in Friday's bombings, it is clear they are linked to Noordin M Top," Ansyaad Mbai said.

The Indonesian government has intensified efforts to find Noordin M Top with the help of Malaysia and several other countries following the recent bombings.

Noordin Mohammad Top, a terror coordinator of the Al-Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian branch of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, and his associate Dr. Azhari are believed to have masterminded a series of major terrorist acts in Indonesia, including the Bali bombings in 2002, the JW Marriot hotel explosions in Jakarta in 2003, a deadly blast at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004, and bombings in Bali in October 2005 that killed more than 220 people.

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