New Indonesian-Australian Law Enforcement Centre Boosts Regional Battle Against Terrorism

The Australian Government welcomes today's opening of the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) by President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

This Centre will boost the capacity of law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism and other transnational crimes in our region and is a tangible sign of the cooperative determination by Australia and Indonesia to combat regional threats.

The Indonesian-Australian initiative builds on the excellent cooperation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Indonesian National Police in their investigations into the Bali bombings.

These investigations resulted in 33 convictions in the Bali trials and continue to reap rewards in areas such as child sex abuse, illicit drug trafficking and terrorist investigations.

Australia's contribution to the Centre of $36.8 million over five years will include expertise, technical support and international training courses.

The Centre's work will focus on three areas: research, law enforcement education and training and operational support in response to specific terrorist threats or attacks.

The Centre will involve other countries as participants and contributors. International expertise will be enlisted for training programs in counter-terrorism investigations, criminal intelligence, forensics and financial investigations.

A course on bomb blast forensics began this week, attended by more than 30 international participants.

The Centre will also work closely with other regional bodies such as the South-East Asian Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism in Kuala Lumpur and the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok.

Australia's support for the Centre forms part of a package worth $87 million over 4 years to strengthen regional counter-terrorism measures in sectors including law enforcement, border control and aviation and shipping security.

Media inquiries: Media inquiries: Chris Kenny (Mr Downer's Office) 02 6277 7500. Simon Troeth (Senator Ellison's Office) 02 6277 7260