Indonesia deplores Australian spying

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian government expressed concern and warned of cracks in the normalization of ties between Jakarta and Canberra on Wednesday following the discovery that an Australian citizen had sponsored spy activities in West Timor.

In the latest twist in the deteriorating relations since the East Timor saga in September, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry issued a statement "expressing serious concern" over the incident.

"The Indonesian government deeply deplores the recurrence of the espionage activities involving Australian nationals, which only serves to impede the normalization of bilateral relations between Australia and Indonesia."

Former Timorese militiamen Paul Tallo Alberto, 25, who was apprehended by East Nusa Tenggara police on April 6, admitted that he had been instructed by an Australian named Person to engage in espionage activities.

Person, believed to hold the rank of sergeant, is assigned to the peacekeeping force in East Timor.

United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) Peacekeeping Force (PKF) Commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos publicly apologized for the spying incident after meeting with TNI chief Adm. Widodo AS on Monday.

De los Santos has pledged to expel the Australian from East Timor.

An Australian Defense spokesman was quoted by AFP as saying in Canberra that an inquiry would be conducted as a matter of urgency to determine the next step.

Despite Jakarta's fury over the incident, former INTERFET Commander Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove seemed to lightly brush off the incident saying that he was well-intentioned but misguided.

"Once all this is over he should return to what I'm sure is meritorious service," said Cosgrove who led the international force that came into East Timor in September.

There are about 1,600 Australian military personnel and 300 support staff in the UN peacekeeping operation in East Timor. (mds)