INTERPOL GENERAL ASSEMBLY HELPS IN SHARING COUNTER-TERRORISM EXPERIENCES by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 9, 2016 (Antara) - Indonesia feels lucky to be the host of the 85th General Assembly of the International Police (Interpol) being held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from November 7 to 10, 2016.

         The country has seen the major gathering as a good forum for sharing counter-terrorism experiences with the group's 190 member countries, besides offering an opportunity to promote Bali tourism.

         Joining Interpol since 1954, Indonesia has in fact reaped many benefits by coordinating with member countries and learning from their counter-terrorism plans and knowledge.

         "We have uncovered many new modes of operation which had never been found in Indonesia before, but we knew this is based on information from other countries," Head of International Relations Division of the Indonesian Police Headquarters, Inspector General Ketut Untung Yoga, said on the sidelines of the Interpol General Assembly on November 8.

        Indonesia could adopt technics, tactics as well as technologies from other members to improve its capability to cope with a new case, including establishment of regulations, which has yet to be stipulated in the current laws.

         Currently, transnational crimes, which are borderless, demand international cooperation with advanced technology.

         Therefore, Indonesia is backing efforts to strengthen cooperation with the Interpol by exchanging information on ISIS and the emergence of new global threats from foreign terrorists returning home.

         Indonesia's Police Chief General Tito Karnavian earlier confirmed that the meeting would discuss the efforts to strengthen cooperation among police institutions throughout the world in the fight against global security threats such as terrorism.

          He specifically stated that international cooperation in legal enforcement and prevention is needed to deal with ISIS, which has at least 1,000 members in Iraq and Syria.

        Interpol circulates alerts and warnings on terrorists, dangerous criminals and weapons threats to police in member countries. These alerts are known as Notices and Diffusions.

         Red notices are issued to all countries for individuals wanted by national authorities, seeking their provisional arrest with a view to extradition. Blue Notices are issued to collect additional information about a person¿s identity, location or activities in relation to a crime. Green Notices provide warnings and intelligence about individuals who have committed a crime, while Yellow Notices help locate missing persons.

          In September 2014, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2178 recognizing Interpol¿s global role against the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters.

         In the meantime, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika earlier expressed his optimism that the Interpol General Assembly would help promote the island's tourist resorts widely.

         "This Interpol General Assembly will have a major impact on the tourism sector. There will be more than 2 thousand delegates or 3 to 4 thousand if they take their families along. So it will also help in generating more income," the governor said recently.

         He remarked that Bali is lucky to host the Interpol General Assembly, which is be held for the first time in Indonesia. Therefore, he called on the Balinese to show their hospitality and help maintain security.

          The Interpol General Assembly is believed to be the second-largest international gathering, after the UN General Assembly in New York.

          In total, some 1,360 delegates attended the opening of the 85th General Assembly on Nov 7.

         The meeting is attended by some 830 delegates, comprising 13 ministers from 13 countries, 59 police chiefs, 11 members of the Executive Committee of Interpol, 94 Head of Delegation of Interpol, 651 delegates of Interpol member countries, and two ambassadors.

          About 429 non-delegates also attend the assembly. They consist of 52 observers, 368 exhibitors and nine guests. In addition, there are 101 people accompanying the delegates and the non-delegates.

         There were 3.63 million visits by foreign tourists to Bali between January and September this year, or an increase of 21.69 percent from 2.99 million in the same period last year.

         Australia contributed 23.36 percent to the total number of foreign visits to Bali, followed by Chinese tourists whose number shot up 35.84 percent to 741.740  from 546,035 visits in the same period last year.

         Japan was the third place contributing 4.94% followed by Britain accounting for 4.52 percent, India for 3.57 percent, France for 3.56 percent, Malaysia 3.55 percent, the United States 3.44 percent, South Korea 3.04 percent, and Germany for 3.22 percent.

         Altogether, Indonesia recorded 8.36 million visits by foreign tourist until September this year, or an increase of 8.5 percent year-on-year.

         Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said earlier this week that the increase provided greater optimism that the target of 12 million visits by foreign tourists to the country this year would be achieved. ***2***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 09-11-2016 15:24:21