http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Indonesia/10109081.html Published: 06/03/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
Militants adopting new strategies, conference told Reuters Jakarta: Militant groups are constantly adopting new strategies, including use of advanced technology, and are far from being defeated despite some progress in fighting them, Indonesia's Foreign Minister said yesterday. "While we have been enhancing our cooperation and enlarging our capabilities in the fight against terrorism, the terrorists are also making their own adjustments," Hassan Wirajuda told a ministerial security meeting in the Indonesian capital. "As terrorists are becoming more sophisticated, we governments have to adapt ourselves," he told reporters at the meeting, which discussed the use of technology by militants. Experts say terrorists have found smarter ways to cross borders, and are seeking to win popular support through charities and involvement in sectarian violence. Indonesia and Australia, which co-chaired the two-day conference, have worked closely ever since militants bombed nightclubs on Indonesia's resort island of Bali in 2002. Major bombings Australians accounted for many of the more than 200 people killed in the bomb attacks that targeted foreign tourists. The 2002 bombings have been blamed on Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah (JI). Regional authorities believe it was also behind more recent major bombings. For the first time since 2000, Indonesia went a whole year in 2006 without a large-scale terror attack. However, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer warned against complacency at the conference, which representatives from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines also attended. "They continue to find support, they continue to make bombs and they continue to recruit operatives to carry out their attacks," he told the conference. Downer said extremists like JI seek a world that bans "all forms of entertainment and all trappings of modernity". Ansyaad Mbai, the head of the anti-terrorism division at Indonesia's security ministry, said the threat posed by militants remained high despite the arrest of more than 200 people linked to previous attacks. Jailed militants should also be separated from others to prevent them from reorganising and committing more attacks after they have been released, he said
