Indonesia deplores Australian spying

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)