Embassy attack likely linked to Corby case<\/p>\n
Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government condemned on Wednesday the intimidation
\nof its embassy staff in Canberra, calling it a cowardly act,
\nafter the embassy received an envelope with white powder --
\nbelieved to be anthrax.<\/p>\n
Most officials have not ruled out a link to the verdict by a
\ncourt in Bali, which sentenced last Friday a young Australian
\ngirl to 20 years in prison for alleged cannabis smuggling.<\/p>\n
Foreign ministry spokesperson Marty Natalegawa said his
\ncountry would not be intimidated by such tactics and would try to
\nopen the embassy again after the 52 staff members complete a 2-
\nday quarantine period.<\/p>\n
\"It's a sorry, cowardly attempt at intimidation, which is to
\nbe condemned. It runs contrary to the close relations the
\nIndonesian and Australian governments have enjoyed,\" Marty said
\nin a phone interview.<\/p>\n
\"We are in close cooperation with the Australian authorities
\nto address this issue. Indonesia will not succumb to such
\nintimidation and we'll strive to ensure the continuation of the
\nvarious services provided by the embassy,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Marty said the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda,
\ncurrently accompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during
\na visit to Japan, had called for all Indonesian citizens in
\nAustralia to increase their vigilance.<\/p>\n
\"He (Hassan) has instructed the Indonesian embassy in Canberra
\nto advise Indonesian nationals and other consular offices to
\nraise their level of alertness,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Australian federal police sealed off the Indonesian Embassy in
\nCanberra on Wednesday after a \"biological agent\" was found in a
\npackage sent to the building.<\/p>\n
The federal police said the envelope was delivered to the
\nembassy around 10:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. in Jakarta) through the
\nnormal mail service and was identified as suspicious by embassy
\nstaff. Ambassador Imron Cotan was not inside the building at the
\ntime.<\/p>\n
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Wednesday that
\nthe powder, sent in an envelope addressed to Cotan, and which was
\nspilled on to the floor inside the embassy, was apparently in
\nretaliation for the sentencing of Australian Schapelle Leigh
\nCorby.<\/p>\n
Howard said that the powder was a type of bacillus bacteria,
\nthe same family that contains the anthrax bacteria.<\/p>\n
\"It's not an innocent white powder. It's some type of
\nbiological agent. I'm not a scientist, but they say it belongs to
\nthe bacillus group and is being tested. I can't tell you any more
\nthan that,\" Howard told Channel Nine television on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The bacillus group contains various forms of bacteria, one of
\nwhich can cause anthrax, which killed five people in the United
\nStates in late 2001, after it was found in letters to media and
\ngovernment offices in Washington, Florida and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\"It would be the first time, if the preliminary results are
\nconfirmed, such a biological agent has been sent in Australia,\"
\nHoward added.<\/p>\n
He said it would be a \"remarkable coincidence\" if the incident
\nat the embassy was not related to the Corby case. \"It will do
\ngreat damage in the eyes of many Indonesian people to the
\nrelationship between our countries and it certainly won't help
\nSchapelle Corby.\"<\/p>\n
He apologized on behalf of the Australian people to the
\nIndonesian embassy staff and government. \"It's an act of reckless
\nindifference to human life and I apologize on behalf of the
\nAustralian people to the Indonesian embassy and to the Indonesian
\ngovernment.\"<\/p>\n
Corby's conviction sparked an emotional backlash in Australia,
\nwith the Indonesian embassy receiving threatening telephone calls
\nand many Australians calling for a Bali boycott and a return of
\ntheir tsunami aid donations.<\/p>\n
Corby says she is innocent and that the drugs found in her
\nbodyboard bag by a Bali customs officer were planted there by
\nsomeone else. Newspaper polls show 90 percent of Australians
\nbelieve Corby is innocent.<\/p>\n
Many Australians believe Corby was not given a fair trial and
\nher lawyers on Wednesday formally launched an appeal against the
\nverdict.<\/p>\n
In April, bullets were sent to the Indonesian consulate in the
\nwest Australian city of Perth along with a letter containing a
\nwarning that staff would be killed unless Corby was freed.<\/p>\n
Prominent Corby backers distanced themselves from the attack.
\n\"I am a little bit disgusted, I can't believe people will go to
\nthose lengths to support somebody,\" Corby's close friend Jodie
\nPower told ABC radio.<\/p>\n
\"I think it's very un-Australian. It's one thing to boycott
\nBali but it's another thing to do something like that and put
\npeople's lives at risk.\"<\/p>",
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