ABC AUSTRALIA, Tuesday, February 27, 2007. 1:00pm (AEDT)
Indonesia must do more to stop JI: security expert
An international security expert says the Indonesian Government needs to do more to
stop the social spread of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI).
Zachary Abuza from the United States has addressed the National Security
Conference in Sydney today.
Professor Abuza says although the Indonesian Government has done a lot in arresting
members of JI, it is not looking at the start of JI's spread into charity work.
He says the Australian Government and others in the region need to be vigilant about
the change of JI from a secret society into one that is trying to spread its influence.
"What matters to the Australian Government is that Indonesians are probably not
taking this seriously enough," he said.
Threat in Australia
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general Paul O'Sullivan
says he does not want to specify how many terrorists there could be in Australia.
Mr O'Sullivan has told the conference there has been an increase in the number of
potential radicals in Australia.
He says while Australia's threat level has not changed since 2001, it is feasible an
attack could occur.
But Mr O'Sullivan says he does not want to follow the United Kingdom's lead in
outlining exactly what the number of homegrown terrorists could be.
"I think it's a mistake to try and categorise people in those categories of large or small
numbers," he said.
"The problem when you try and have an answer on a numerical basis is that people
move between categories.
"One of the points about the speed of radicalisation is that somebody who today
seems to be merely an extremist can become radicalised in a very short time."
© 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
