PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodia's recent fast-paced economic boom makes it crucial to cooperate with the country in fighting terrorism and global crime, the chief of the U.S. FBI said Thursday.
«It's an important country to us because of the potential for persons transiting Cambodia or utilizing Cambodia as a spot for terrorism,» Robert Mueller said at a news conference in the capital, Phnom Penh.
He spoke after inaugurating an FBI office at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. The office is headed by Laro Tan, a Cambodian-American.
As the Southeast Asian nation expands financially and is drawn deeper into the growing global mesh of the Internet, Mueller said it was important to see how it was affected by the growth of international financial fraud.
Mueller was also visiting the country for talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism and transnational crime, to which Cambodia is seen as vulnerable because of weak and allegedly corrupt law enforcement.
Hambali, an Indonesian said to be a key leader of the regional Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, reportedly spent several months in Cambodia in 2002 and allegedly tried to use it as a base from which to launch attacks.
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was captured in neighboring Thailand in 2003 and later transferred to the prison at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Mueller praised the cooperation Washington has received from the Cambodian police.
«I might say in particular that our relationship as it addresses terrorism and the threat of terrorism has been exemplary and the exchange of information between our services has been the second to none,» he said.
The Cambodian national police force is headed by Gen. Hok Lundy, whom New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused of ordering an extrajudicial killing, as well as involvement in drug smuggling and human trafficking. The government has dismissed the allegations as nonsense.
Hok Lundy was denied a U.S. visa in 2006 for reasons never made public. Last year, however, the U.S. State Department granted him a visa to attend counterterrorism meetings hosted by the FBI.
«It's an important country to us because of the potential for persons transiting Cambodia or utilizing Cambodia as a spot for terrorism,» Robert Mueller said at a news conference in the capital, Phnom Penh.
He spoke after inaugurating an FBI office at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. The office is headed by Laro Tan, a Cambodian-American.
As the Southeast Asian nation expands financially and is drawn deeper into the growing global mesh of the Internet, Mueller said it was important to see how it was affected by the growth of international financial fraud.
Mueller was also visiting the country for talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism and transnational crime, to which Cambodia is seen as vulnerable because of weak and allegedly corrupt law enforcement.
Hambali, an Indonesian said to be a key leader of the regional Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, reportedly spent several months in Cambodia in 2002 and allegedly tried to use it as a base from which to launch attacks.
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was captured in neighboring Thailand in 2003 and later transferred to the prison at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Mueller praised the cooperation Washington has received from the Cambodian police.
«I might say in particular that our relationship as it addresses terrorism and the threat of terrorism has been exemplary and the exchange of information between our services has been the second to none,» he said.
The Cambodian national police force is headed by Gen. Hok Lundy, whom New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused of ordering an extrajudicial killing, as well as involvement in drug smuggling and human trafficking. The government has dismissed the allegations as nonsense.
Hok Lundy was denied a U.S. visa in 2006 for reasons never made public. Last year, however, the U.S. State Department granted him a visa to attend counterterrorism meetings hosted by the FBI.
2 comments:
With the intensity of the FBI presence in the Kingdom cooperatively fighting against many fronts, it may potentially encourage Cambodian officials to promote the anti-corruption and other maters that the Kingdom is facing.
Thank you!!!
Post a Comment