RI, Australia form joint team to probe Bali attack
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."