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By Amit Baruah
SINGAPORE, MARCH. 15.The South-East Asian region could be a possible sanctuary for al- Qaeda terrorists trying to escape from Afghanistan, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director, Mr. Robert Mueller, said today. Mr. Mueller, who arrived in Singapore from Malaysia and will also be travelling to Indonesia, said: "I think we have concerns in a number of regions, but yes in South-East Asia, because as al-Qaeda loses its sanctuary in Afghanistan as it has, members of the Al Qaeda network will look elsewhere to establish sanctuaries.'' ``South-East Asia, the Middle East(West Asia), other countries could also harbour some of these individuals,'' he said. While Malaysia and Singapore have been cooperating with the United States in its "war against terrorism'', there have been some concerns about Indonesia — but American media reports now say that even Jakarta is now cooperating quietly in specific cases. ``What we do not know is the extent of support (for al-Qaeda elements) in South-East Asia....we do not know all we want to know about the networks....the means of communications....the financial transfers, money sources. All of which, together with our counterparts, we need to address,'' he said. Before moving on to Indonesia, Mr. Mueller had words of understanding for Jakarta, stating that the country had begun drafting an anti-terror law. ``Indonesia has special problems in coping with this problem (of terrorism) — the lack of resources, the large population size, the thousands of islands, and the political distractions inherent in a new democracy,'' he said. Mr. Mueller said the FBI had been cooperating with Indonesia, but did not comment when asked if the Bureau was questioning detained suspects. ``It is not helpful for the United States to come from our legal system, our way of doing things, our background and try and preach to other countries,'' he said. ``What we try to do and what is important for us to do is to understand and be sensitive to the context to which our counterparts have to operate,'' he said.
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