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.