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State Dept report on terrorism focuses on SE Asia
East Asian countries made progress last year in battling terrorists, but threats remain, particularly in Southeast Asia, where efforts are hampered by weak rule of law and poor security, the U.S. State Department said.In Friday's annual report on worldwide terrorism, the State Department pointed to Southeast Asia as a "major front in the global war on terror," saying a clearer picture of the relationship between al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and local Islamic extremists has emerged through investigations and testimony in court cases. Worldwide, Iran was described as the most active state sponsor of terrorism. The report tallied about 11,000 terror attacks in 2005, with about 3,500 of those occurring in Iraq. The report praised the Indonesian government for demonstrating "a new urgency on counterterrorism," particularly after October's deadly terrorist bombings on the resort island of Bali, which killed 20 people. After a three-year manhunt, a November police raid in Indonesia killed Malaysian bomb maker Azahari bin Husin, a suspect in nearly every major terrorist attack in the country over the last five years. The report noted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's appointment of a new national police chief to reform anti-corruption and counterterrorism measures. But efforts "remain hampered by weak rule of law, serious internal coordination problems, and systemic corruption that further limits already strained government resources," it said. The report singled out Laos as a potential safe haven for terrorists, saying the country is complacent about security despite the presence of a small domestic insurgency of about 1,000 to 2,000 people in a remote northern area. "Lao officials at many levels see terrorism as an issue of only marginal relevance to Laos," the report says. "They believe that Laos, as a small and neutral country, would not be targeted by terrorists." In the Philippines, the report cited growing cooperation among JI and the local groups Abu Sayyaf and the Rajah Solaiman Movement, made up of Christian converts to Islam, as a "major, and disturbing, trend." Near-simultaneous Valentine's Day bombings in Manila, Davao and General Santos City involved members of all three groups, killing eight people and injuring 150. The country arrested Rajah Solaiman leader Ahmad Santos and its second-in-command, and hasarrested or killed 83 suspected terrorists. But the lack of a law defining terrorism and a long backlog of cases have been hurdles to prosecuting terrorism cases, the report said. The report said there was no evidence of a link between militants in Thailand's restive south and JI or al-Qaeda, but "there is concern, however, that these groups may attempt to capitalize on the increasingly violent situation for their own purposes." Posted by: ryuge 2006-04-29 |
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