Jakarta – Indonesia Tuesday promised to take firm action against Muslim militants who have threatened retaliation against Americans here for any US attack on Afghanistan.
Defense Minister Matori Abdul Jalil described the groups as "insignificant" in number but added: "We cannot tolerate such actions. We have the obligation to protect foreigners, foreign assets and the diplomatic interests of foreign countries. We will take firm actions in accordance with existing laws."
Lieutenant General Agus Wijoyo, the military chief for territorial affairs, echoed Jalil. "We do not tolerate any groups or individuals that break the law," he said.
Militant groups have threatened to forcibly expel Americans and raid US facilities if the US attacks Afghanistan in retaliation for terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon on September 11.
Several hardline groups on Sunday checked international hotels and the airport in the Central Java city of Solo in a fruitless search for Americans.
Jalil also said Indonesia's determination to fight terrorism had always been strong. "We cannot tolerate terrorism and we have to eradicate it," he told reporters on the sidelines of a security workshop held by the British embassy and his ministry.
The minister said Indonesia would cooperate with other countries, including the United States, in sharing information on terrorist movements. "There should be a constant exchange of information." Anti-American protests have mounted in Indonesia after US officials singled out the Afghanistan-based Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect but the numbers involved have generally been small.
Many people have expressed condolences over the attacks at the US embassy. During her meeting with President George W. Bush in Washington last week, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri condemned what she called the "brutal and indiscriminate" attacks and said her country would join the global battle against terrorism.
Megawati, the leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation, on Monday held talks with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at UN headquarters in New York.
On Monday her foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda signed the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism at UN headquarters, the state-run Antara news agency reported on Tuesday.
Wirayuda said Indonesia had long been considering signing the anti-terrorism convention and it was not merely a response to the terror attacks on the US. He also signed protocols outlawing the use of child soldiers and protecting children against the sex trade.
Within the framework of the terrorism convention, Wirayuda said Jakarta would try to increase intelligence coordination with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other countries. The foreign minister said earlier the signing of the convention was necessary to strengthen Indonesia's legal instruments.