RI condemns embassy security hoax<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta, Canberra<\/p>\n
Indonesia on Tuesday condemned as a "terror threat" the second
\nsecurity hoax at its embassy in Canberra in a week, amid growing
\nresentment towards its neighbor's obsession with a young
\nAustralian woman jailed in Bali on drugs charges.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said the incident was "part
\nof a wave of threat of terror" against Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Australian police sealed off Indonesia's Canberra mission
\nearlier on Tuesday following the discovery of a package that
\nWirayuda said contained white powder similar to a substance that
\ncaused an alert at the embassy last week.<\/p>\n
Police said tests on both substances showed they were benign.<\/p>\n
There has been widespread public outrage in Australia after an
\nIndonesian court jailed 27-year-old Schapelle Corby, who was
\ncaught with 4.1 kilograms of marijuana stuffed in her luggage at
\nBali's airport.<\/p>\n
Many of Corby's supporters, who back her claim that she was
\nthe victim of an international smuggling syndicate, have
\nthreatened to boycott Bali as a holiday destination and have
\ndemanded the return of aid for Indonesian tsunami victims.<\/p>\n
Hassan said the latest incident would not harm often rocky
\nties between Indonesia and Australia, which began improving when
\nCanberra offered help in the wake of the Oct. 2002, Bali bombings
\nin which 88 Australians died.<\/p>\n
"Actions such as this one will not intimidate our bilateral
\nrelations. We condemn this type of action," he said.<\/p>\n
The Australian reaction to Corby's sentence has, however,
\nstirred resentment among ordinary Indonesians, who see it as an
\nattempt by their neighbor to interfere in Indonesia's justice
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
Australian politician Bruce Billson, who was in Indonesia on
\nTuesday for discussions on a possible prisoner exchange deal that
\nwould allow Corby to serve her sentence in her homeland, also
\ncondemned the embassy incidents.<\/p>\n
"Firstly we conveyed how appalled we are and disgusted by the
\nparcels that have been sent to the Indonesian embassies. It is
\nvery un-Australian," he said.<\/p>\n
"We conveyed our deep regret and how appalled we are that such
\nan activity has happened in our land."<\/p>\n
Negotiations began in Jakarta this week on Australia's push
\nfor a prisoner exchange treaty that could enable Corby and 13
\nother Australians in Indonesian prisons to serve their time at
\nhome.<\/p>\n
Billson said after discussions with Indonesian officials that
\nsuch a treaty would take months.<\/p>\n
"We discussed the Corby case briefly and recognized that calm
\nheads are what (are) needed now," he said.<\/p>\n
A poll published on Tuesday revealed Australians are divided
\non whether Corby is guilty or innocent.<\/p>\n
The AC Nielsen poll of 1,401 people published in The Sydney
\nMorning Herald newspaper showed 17 percent of people are
\nconvinced Corby is innocent and 17 percent believe she was
\nprobably or definitely guilty.<\/p>\n
A slight majority -- 51 percent -- thought the trial in Bali
\nwas unfair. The poll had a margin of error of 2.6 percentage
\npoints.<\/p>\n
A previous poll linked to a television show aired before
\nCorby's May 27 verdict had suggested more than 90 percent of
\nAustralians believed she was innocent.<\/p>\n
In a possible blow to the tourism industry in Bali, which
\ndraws thousands of Australians each year, 48 percent of the
\npeople in the latest poll said the Corby case would make them
\nless likely to visit the tropical island.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-condemns-embassy-security-hoax-1447893297",
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