U.K., AUSTRALIA HOST COUNTER-TERRORISM CONFERENCE

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000818 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/CT AND EAP/MLS; GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL CB SUBJECT: U.K., AUSTRALIA HOST COUNTER-TERRORISM CONFERENCE ¶1. (U) The U.K. and Australian governments sponsored a seminar on counter-terrorism for Cambodian government (RGC) officials April 27-28. Intended to exchange information on strategies, arrangements and capabilities for meeting the terrorist threat in Cambodia, the seminar received high-level support from the RGC. DPM/Minister of Interior Sar Kheng opened the seminar and PM Hun Sen closed it. Virtually the entire senior cadre of the Cambodian National Police attended, as did senior members of the government and military involved in CT work. Officers and experts from the Australian Federal Police and U.K. CT Command led discussions. Among the topics covered were the July 2005 London bombings, lessons learned from Cambodia's 2005 Siem Reap hostage incident, the roles of police and military in CT and the planning of a CT exercise. ¶2. (U) DPM Sar Kheng's opening remarks stressed the numerous areas in which Cambodia needed to increase its capabilities, including the quality and effectiveness of law enforcement, passage of a comprehensive law on CT, financial management, and strengthening religious institutions so that they will be more resistant to outside influence. He noted that while Cambodia has not figured as a terrorist target to date, it does not mean that Cambodia can afford to be complacent and not prepare in the event of an attack. The DPM warned that terrorists use technology well and pay attention to information collection; terrorist operations are sophisticated in their planning and execution, and law enforcement must pay heed. He ordered officers to attend all of the seminar sessions in order to derive maximum benefit. ¶3. (U) Scheduled to speak for 30 minutes, PM Hun Sen broke from his text to address attendees for one and half hours. Noting that he had personally drafted Cambodia's strategic CT plan, Hun Sen stressed the importance of not underestimating terrorists' capabilities. He commented that it was necessary to draft planning documents and protect potential targets. Bemoaning the fact that terrorists can learn of government operations from the media and adjust their plans accordingly, he stressed the importance of intelligence collection. He went on at length about the successes of the armed forces of the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) against the Khmer Rouge and non-Communist resistance in the 1980's, often calling out to members of Qe audience who had served as colleagues in that war. He took particular pride in the disinformation fed to FUNCINPEC through a double agent and claimed that the PRK had infiltrated all of the main resistance bases, including Site B (FUNCINPEC),Site 2 (KPNLF),and Site 8 (Khmer Rouge). ¶4. (SBU) Comment: As Australian Ambassador Lisa Filipetto noted in her closing remarks, the seminar was useful in establishing links among the CT organizations of Australia, the U.K. and Cambodia. It demonstrated also the strong need for RGC capacity-building and trust/cooperation between police and military officials involved in CT issues. The presentations by the UK police investigator in charge of the July 2005 London bombings and the Cambodian MOI on the Siem Reap hostage were in stark contrast to one another. Douglas McKenna outlined the strong cooperation within the UK government and among European counterparts in addressing the London bombings, and frankly explained what worked well and what areas of improvement remained. The Cambodian Ministry of Interior official showed a carefully edited film of the Siem Reap incident that had removed any reference to the Cambodian military and only showed the police. In addition, he offered no lessons learned and no comment on how the operation could have proceeded more effectively. Western officials in attendance agreed that their Cambodian counterparts would need continued exercises and step-by-step operational training for some time to come. End Comment. STORELLA