Downer pledges aid for Bali blast probe
Downer pledges aid for Bali blast probe
The Jakarta Post, Kuta, Bali
Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said here on Tuesday his government would do everything to help Indonesia reveal those behind Saturday's bombings by joining a multi- national task force of investigators comprising members from Indonesia, the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan, as well as Australia.
Speaking during a press conference at the Australian consulate in Renon, Denpasar, Downer said that Australia had already sent 17 investigators from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), "and there will be more coming, up to around 40 officers."
The AFP officers would closely work with investigators from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Britain's Scotland Yard and experts from Germany and Japan.
"What I've seen today is enough to break anyone's heart, a simply shocking sight, utterly appalling and it drives home to anybody the evil of terrorism, of mass murder," Downer said, giving vent to his feelings after visiting the bomb site in Legian, Kuta, which is now tightly guarded by the security forces.
Downer, accompanied by Australian justice minister Chris Ellison, laid a wreath during a ceremony at the place where Paddy's and the Sari Club had once stood. Earlier, he had met with People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and Bali Governor I Dewa Made Beratha.
The ceremony was also attended by religious leaders representing Indonesia's five major faiths, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism and Protestantism. He described the ceremony as being "touching and moving."
"No single religion should be taken as being responsible for terrorism," he said.
Asked whether the bombing had any connection with Al-Qaeda or the local Jamaah Islamiyah militant group, Downer explained, "At this stage, we just really don't know."
Downer also said that there was no evidence suggesting that the bomb attacks had deliberately targeted Australian citizens.
"We think that it's more likely that foreigners more generally were deliberately targeted," he said.
Downer will meet with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Downer's counterpart Hassan Wirayuda in Jakarta on Wednesday morning to further elaborate on the cooperation.
Chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) A.M. Hendropriyono confirmed on Tuesday that one of the bombs that exploded last Saturday night contained C4. Hendro blamed international terrorists for the tragedy.
"The information (about the kind of bomb) has not been released officially, but informally, yes, it (one of the bombs) was made from C4," Hendropriyono told reporters during a visit to Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar.
"Our country has been attacked. This is a serious attack and it is embarrassing. I have been warning this country for the last year and now I, again, ask all components of the country to help the security authorities solve the case and to arrest the perpetrators. Don't be a betrayer by protecting them (the perpetrators), psychology or physically," Hendropriyono further warned.
C4 was the same material used in the bomb that exploded at the Philippine ambassador's residence in Jakarta two years ago. Military sources said that only the U.S. could produce the material. Nevertheless, Hendropriyono said that it could be bought by other countries on the black market.
Hendropriyono further said that both the technology and skills employed by the bombers indicated that they were from abroad. He refused to name a particular country, saying that "intelligence has thus far made a preliminary analysis but it will take some time to indicate the perpetrators."
"If we look at the first bomb in the nightclub (Paddy's Club) ... it was of low explosive which was only aimed at creating panic among visitors who naturally would run out from the club (Paddy's and Sari Club) ... but the second bomb ... which went off on the road was a high explosive device.
"They (the bombers) must have carried out surveillance before attacking these places," Hendropriyono said.
Meanwhile, Amien told reporters after meeting with Downer in Sanur that he would urge President Megawati Soekarnoputri to immediately act and take every opportunity to work with other countries to reveal the identities of the attackers and the motives behind the outrageous terrorist act.
"We have to show to the international world that Indonesia is serious in dealing with terrorism," Amien said.
He also suggested that Indonesia work with overseas countries in dealing with money laundering that could be used by certain parties in Indonesia or elsewhere to finance terrorist actions.