Asean agrees on first legally binding pact against terrorism

CEBU (AFP) — ASEAN nations agreed yesterday on the bloc’s first legally binding pact to fight terrorism, including a provision to rehabilitate convicted terror suspects, diplomats said.

The agreement, to be signed here next week, is seen as a breakthrough for the 10-country Southeast Asian group, which includes nations such as the Philippines and Indonesia that have battled Muslim terror groups for years.

"It’s very significant in our concerted effort to combat terrorism in the region," said Imron Cotan, secretary general of the Indonesian foreign ministry, who hailed in particular the proposal to rehabilitate terrorists.

"It’s a different element from what they have in the West," Cotan said. "This will address the root cause of the problem."

According to a draft of the accord, which will be signed at next week’s ASEAN summit, the nations have agreed to track movements of suspicious money or people throughout the region, and to allow for the extradition of terror suspects.

It would be the first anti-terror accord by the bloc, which normally maintains a strict policy of non-interference in members’ internal affairs and has in the past restricted itself to declarations condemning terror.

"It will commit the signatories to genuine cooperation in counter-terrorism," said professor Andrew Tan from the Singapore campus of the University of New South Wales.

"It will represent a breakthrough given the generally declaratory nature of previous ASEAN agreements," Tan said.