Fidel Ramos: Cooperation Needed to Handle International Terrorism

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Former president of the Philippines Fidel Ramos has said that international cooperation is needed to deal with global terrorism networks during a press conference at Jakarta’s Borobudur Hotel on Tuesday (5/3) evening. He also said that the statement made by Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew about terrorists was not addressed at Indonesia in particular: “The statement was not addressed to any one country. It is a real problem and we have to work together in the fight against international terrorism.” Ramos went on to say that everybody--especially those in intelligence and security forces as well as diplomats--should be concerned about investigating such matters thoroughly instead of blaming others.” “Our border areas are very open, so the risk of terrorist-related crimes is high,” he said. Countries need to have the same perception in handling international terrorism and transnational crimes, such as drugs trafficking, illegal migrants, and trafficking in persons. “International cooperation is really needed, especially in the region,” said Ramos. He went on to say that, as regards the arrest of Faturrohman al Ghozi, the Indonesian police has been cooperating with the Philippines police and had visited Manila to investigate the case. In addition, the Philippines police had also visited Indonesia to search for more information, said Ramos. (Faisal-Tempo News Room)