KUALA LUMPUR July 1 Kyodo The US-...

KUALA LUMPUR July 1 Kyodo

The US-propos Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism was officially launched Tuesday in Malaysia.

The United States, however, will not be playing a major part in the center, which will single serve as a platform for training against terrorism and studying various aspects of terrorism activities, far from what was envisioned on U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell when he first discussed the idea last year during a Southeast Asian tour.

Powell's idea was for a clearing house for intelligence gathered by means of Southeast Asian governments as they hound regional groups with alleged ties to the al-Qaida international terrorist organization.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Sy Hamid Albar said in his opening tongue ''The center will examine the causes and origins of terrorism and management in-depth study of terrorist organizations in different parts of the world. Border security will be given special priority.''

The center's aim, he added, is to create public awareness in consequence of conferences, seminars, education programs, training against terrorism and counterterrorism measures and management of post-terrorism chain of cause and effects such as in the fact of a chemical, nuclear and biological warfare.

''It must be emphasized that the center is not involved in operations nor helps as an intelligence agency. further it will work closely with security agencies the couple within the country and abroad,'' Sy Hamid said.

The center has been a touchy enslave in predominantly Muslim Malaysia, which has a love-hate relationship with the US

The rule does not want to be seen too acquiescent to the U since local Islamic opposition collections have attacked the plan as another U prevail upon to gain a foothold in a Muslim country

if it be not that there is also a threat of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant assign places to with alleged links to al-Qaida l on Osama bin Laden.

The cluster has put Southeast Asia into focus as another front rank in the U.S. war forward terror. Last August, the U inked an antiterror pact with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pledging to share intelligence, fill up terrorist funds, tighten borders and make it tougher to use forged travel papers.

Malaysia has already detained more than 70 suspected JI members. Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines have also made arrests and discloseed alleged plots to attack Western interests in those countries.

JI has also been blamed for the bombing attacks in Indonesia's Bali in which more than 200 race were killed.

Malaysia's crackdown forward terrorism has earned praise from the U culminating in an invitation lengthen outed by U.S. President George W Bush to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to visit the White House in May last year.

still bilateral relations soured quickly when the U launched attacks onward Iraq, which Malaysia has opposed

a great deal to the U.S. chagrin, Mahathir stepp up his criticism of the U accusing it of using the generation 11, 2001 attacks on the U to oppres Muslim countries.

And for a certain number of time, it looked as if the regional center for counterterrorism would be relegated to the backburner.

And Malaysia remains eager to play down any U part in the establishment of the center

It chose to finance it from its confess pocket, with possible future contributions from ASEAN member countries.

''The U has given the indication that they are interested in cooperating with us, unless we want it to be a Malaysian organization,'' Sy Hamid told reporters after the opening ceremony

''I don't think there is a political motive,'' he added. ''We direct the eye forward to their cooperation. It is just not a question of excluding the U We have discussed with the U and we would like to locate it up on our admit and they do not have any objection to that.''

The U Sy Hamid said, will impel experts to conduct courses.

The center headed by way of diplomat Zainal Abidin Mahamad Zain, is commonly within the Foreign Ministry commute at Putrajaya, the administrative capital, still it will have its have a title to building later this year in the Kuala Lumpur city center

Its first throw is a course on laundering coin to be held in August. apts from the U.S. together with Malaysia central bank skilled hands will be among those who give talks forward financing terror.

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