The threat of terrorism remains a global challenge today. To that end, international cooperation is needed to address the threat of terrorism today. This was conveyed by Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marty M. Natalegawa, at the Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting of Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Second Coordinating Committee in Istanbul, Turkey (06/7).
Present at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and the United States, Marty confirmed that the synergy at the national, regional and global level as efforts to tackle the threat of terrorism is a necessity. "GCTF must be a forum to synergize all efforts at national, regional and global level," Marty said.
During the meeting, Indonesia stressed the urgency of addressing the "root causes of terrorism" and eliminate "conditions conducive to terrorism". This should be the focus and working plan of the GCTF forum.
One of the ways is through global efforts in addressing poverty issues, social issues and injustice at the global level. "Winning the hearts and thoughts is the most intelligent effort in addressing terrorism, radicalism and extremism", closed Marty.
The meeting, attended by more than 14 ministers, reiterated the importance of increasing the capacity of countries in overcoming the challenges of global terrorism in a comprehensive manner, including the threat of radicalism and extremism.
The meeting was also intended to do stock-taking of progress made since its launch in New York, September 2011.
GCTF planned to produce a number of commitments including a plan to establish the first justice and civilian security training academy (JACSTA) in the world. JACSTA activities will be focused on the activities of capacity-building, training and other activities as the implementation of good practice Criminal Justice / Rule of Law Working Group.
In GCTF forum, Indonesia and Australia are Co-Chairs of South-East Asia Working Group. Indonesia is considered to have the leadership in responding to terrorism in the region and has experience in counter-terrorism.
Within the framework of GCTF South East Asia Working Group, Indonesia and Australia, as the Co-Chairs of SEA WG, have carried out GCTF Inaugural South-East Asia Capacity-Building Working Group Meeting, which took the theme of "Custody and Management of Terrorist Detainees in Prison" in Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC), Semarang, on 6-7 March 2012.
The meeting was attended by over 80 participants from 28 countries, which comprised of members of GCTF and Southeast Asian countries, including ASEAN member countries, as well as representatives from international and regional organizations. (Source: BAM/Dit. Infomed/PLE/Yo2k/Ed. PY)