NUSA DUA – Indonesia has deployed 3,800 police personnel to secure the resort island of Bali ahead of the 85th Interpol General Assembly, attended by police chiefs and representatives from 167 countries, slated to kick off on Monday (Nov 7).

The four-day meeting is expected to spark controversy from hard-line groups, particularly given the presence of a delegation from Israel in Bali.

The National Police said they were aware of a number of threats and had prepared accordingly for the second-biggest event after the UN General Assembly, including from ISIS related groups in Indonesia.

“The Bali Police have been instructed to anticipate terror threats from ISIS-related groups or followers of Santoso,” said Bali Police operational division head Adj. Sr. Comr. Wayan Sri said on Sunday in Bali, referring to an Indonesian terrorist who was shot dead in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in July.

Santoso’s followers are believed to be hiding in the jungles of Palu.

Interpol has 191 member countries, of which 167 have confirmed their attendance at the event. Some 1,200 members of delegations, including member countries’ national police chiefs, are expected to attend the conference.

Indonesia Vice-President Jusuf Kalla is scheduled to open the conference, which will discuss assessing and tackling threats posed by returning foreign terrorist fighters among other issues.

Indonesia, where ISIS has exerted increasing influence on extremist cells, is set to push the 167 Interpol members attending the event for greater co-operation to contain the spread of ISIS in the Asia Pacific Region.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said Indonesia needed to push for greater co-operation especially on the extradition of Indonesians fighting alongside ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

As an initial move, Insp. Gen. Boy said the National Police would seek greater co-operation with police authorities in the Middle East. Indonesian fighters returning from Iraq and Syria have reportedly orchestrated a number of attacks in Indonesia.

One person on the wanted list is Bahrun Naim, who is linked to at least four terrorism plots in Indonesia, including a plan to attack Singapore with a rocket from Batam, Riau Islands.

“We expect that we can bring those fighters home. For example, many Indonesians have become victims because of attacks carried out by Bahrun’s groups in Indonesia. We brought home [TERRORIST]Umar Patek from Pakistan in the past, so we hope we can do the same with Bahrun,” Insp. Gen.Boy said.

He said he hoped all Interpol member countries could swiftly follow up any red notices on terrorism sent by Indonesia in the future.

There are currently around 300 Indonesian citizens fighting alongside ISIS in the Middle East.

Terrorism analyst Ridwan Habib from the University of Indonesia (UI) said Indonesia should be able to push for a scheme whereby a member country could directly send a red notice to a destination country.

Under the current system, Ridwan said, a member country must send its red notice to Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. It is then delivered to the destination country to be followed up. Such red tape could hamper counterterrorism efforts that needed a swift response for better results, said Ridwan.

Ridwan said the Bali forum was the best opportunity to push for this reform. “If the decision is taken in Bali then it would be something revolutionary,” Ridwan said.

He said direct intelligence sharing had been practiced by intelligence agencies at the international level, so there was no reason for Interpol not to apply the same concept in order to step up the fight against terrorism.

HONG KONG – Police fired pepper spray in running battles with thousands of demonstrators on the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday as they tried to encircle China’s representative office in protest against Beijing’s attempts to stop independence activism.

Streets filled with mostly young people, many dressed in black, brought to mind weeks of pro-democracy marches in 2014.

This time they were protesting before a ruling due on Monday that is expected to bar two lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong’s legislature.

The situation is seen by many of the territory’s legal and political elite as one of the biggest tests of Hong Kong’s independent rule of law that the global financial hub has faced since its handover to China nearly two decades ago.

Critics say the ruling from a top committee of China’s parliament essentially circumvents local courts.

The two lawmakers, Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung, had pledged allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation” and displayed a”Hong Kong is not China” banner during a swearing-in ceremony for the city’s legislative council in October. Their oaths were not accepted and their right to retake them is being challenged in the local courts by the autonomous Hong Kong government.

Close to a thousand police officers, some with riot shields and batons, and some behind temporary metal barricades, were deployed to prevent protesters surging towards the central government’s Liaison Office, viewed by many as a symbol of Beijing’s increasing influence on the free-wheeling city.

Chanting “Hong Kong Independence” among other slogans, the protesters, some with medical masks and cling film to shield their eyes, tried repeatedly to charge through police lines but were forced back. Several were arrested.

Also reminiscent of the 79-day democracy protests two years ago, many opened umbrellas to protect themselves from pepper spray and blocked a major road running past the China Liaison office, erecting makeshift barricades out of bamboo, wood and rubbish bins to hamper traffic. “We can’t just wait to die,” said 60-year-old protester Alexandra Wong who sat in the middle of the road with a yellow umbrella. “We must come out and resist, to wake up more people to the risks of China destroying our way of life.” The protesters were eventually dispersed by police after a nearly six-hour standoff.

“SEVERE BLOW” TO RULE OF LAW Calls for independence are considered taboo by Beijing’s Communist Party leaders who see Hong Kong as an “inalienable”part of China after more than a century of British rule.

The standing committee of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, this weekend discussed invoking a rarely used power to interpret Hong Kong’s mini “Basic Law” constitution to stop Yau, 25, and Leung, 30, from taking office.

China Central Television quoted national lawmakers as saying the pair were a threat to China’s “sovereignty and security”. “If this kind of situation continues it will harm the immediate interests of the people of Hong Kong … and the interests of national development. The Central Government cannot sit by indifferently,” they were quoted as saying.

As such, an NPC interpretation was “very timely and extremely necessary”, the report said.

Under a “one country, two systems” formula by which Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, Beijing promised to grant the city a high degree of autonomy, including judicial freedom.

Martin Lee, a veteran democrat and barrister, said Beijing’s move to interpret the Basic Law would bind the hands of the Hong Kong court that will hear the government’s challenge against the pair. “(It) makes it impossible for the court to exercise its own judgment,” he said.

The Hong Kong Bar Association has said an intervention by Beijing now would deal a “severe blow” to the city’s judicial independence and undermine international confidence in Hong Kong’s autonomy. Chinese officials are expected to call a news conference on Monday morning regarding the situation.

Earlier on Sunday, thousands – including Yau and Leung -marched to the city’s financial district in protest. Organisers put the numbers at 11,000 while police said 8,000 turned out.