Megawati, PM frame pact on terrorism
By IAN HENDERSON and DON GREENLEES
07feb02
AN agreement to fight terrorism could be signed by Australia and Indonesia as early as tomorrow, after last night's meeting between John Howard and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri in Jakarta.
The two leaders also raised the issue of people-smuggling and Australia offered five small police boats to Indonesia to help counter people-smuggling rings in the country.
Indonesia's foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda said the proposed terrorism agreement would cover the exchange of intelligence information, "capacity-building" exchanges and visits and training.
But a thorny issue in any agreement on terrorism co-operation between the two countries will be exchanges or activities between each country's counter-terrorism forces -- Australia's Special Air Service and the Indonesian Kopassus special forces.
Australia suspended co-operation between the SAS and Kopassus in 1998 because of concerns about the Indonesian force's poor human rights record. A separate Kopassus detachment has primary responsibility for dealing with acts of internal terrorism.
Last night Mr Howard said Australia had supported an Indonesian proposal for a memorandum of understanding between the two nations to counter terrorism.
Mr Howard said the memorandum would show both countries were "really serious" about combating terrorism. With both countries worried about extremist Islam-based terrorist organisations linked to al-Qa'ida, Ms Megawati said many countries should be involved in counter-terrorism.
"We believe that this is not only the problem of Indonesia and Australia," she said.
Australia has offered Indonesia five small police boats, worth $100,000 each, to combat people-smuggling as well as $1 million in aid for flood relief.
Although Ms Megawati made no reference to people-smuggling in the press conference after their meeting, Mr Wirayuda later confirmed this was an issue that "both sides referred to in our discussions".
"The Prime Minister said himself it was not a bilateral issue. We already have a very good mechanism to discuss and address it -- namely the meeting in Bali (at) the end of this month," he said.
The Australian