RI, Australia form joint team to probe Bali attack

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia and Australia agreed on Wednesday to the establishment of a joint team to probe the Bali bomb blasts.

The agreement was reached during discussions between Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Indonesian officials in Jakarta.

It was hoped the cooperation would facilitate the speedy solving of the horrendous terror attack.

"Today, we agreed that Indonesia and Australia will establish a joint investigation and intelligence team to work through the issue following the tragedy in Bali," Downer said.

"We share the burden of ensuring that between us and with the support of other countries, to hunt down and bring to justice those people responsible for this terrible tragedy," he said after meeting President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the State Palace.

He said the Australian government appreciated the spirit of cooperation expressed by the Indonesian government to solve the tragedy.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda said the decision was based on a Memorandum of Understanding on counterterrorism signed by the two governments in February.

The minister said the MoU allowed the two governments to conduct joint intelligence operations if needed in certain circumstances.

"However, there is a time and place limitation as well as command and control arrangement in the joint probe team and Indonesia police remain the leaders of the investigation," Hassan said.

He said Australian intelligence continued working on the ground in Bali, under the coordination of Indonesian authorities.

"We are still discussing the mechanism on how the joint team will operate ... however, the perpetrators will be tried here in Indonesia," Hassan said.

Currently there are more than 40 Australian police involved in the investigation of the attack, which has claimed at least 180 lives and injured hundreds of others.

Most of the victims are Australian. Indonesia's neighbor account for around 70 percent of foreign tourists visiting the resort island.

The huge number of Australian victims was one of many reasons for Canberra's insistence on joining investigation efforts.

Bilateral relations between the two countries has often been rocky, with the recent terrorism issues placing more tension on a relationship which deteriorated after Australia expressed support for the independence of East Timor in 1999.

Despite the strains, economic and person-to-person links remain strong with total trade between the two countries valued at up to US$3.87 billion per year.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, during his visit to Indonesia in February, said the relationship "needs careful attention, you can never take it for granted."

Downer said on Wednesday that the recent Bali tragedy should be seen as a team effort to respond to a horrific crisis.

"There is no doubt that the incident has been as great a shock to Indonesians as it has been to Australians."