RI concerned over Myanmar bugging
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially summoned Myanmar's Ambassador to Indonesia, U Kyaw Myint, on Tuesday to express the country's deep concern over suspected bugging by the Myanmar junta of the Indonesian embassy in Yangon.
The meeting, chaired by Hamzah Thayeb, director for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the ministry, came only three days after legislator Djoko Susilo disclosed the recent finding of an interdepartmental team that the junta had tapped telephone lines to the embassy.
"We have strong indications that our embassy in Yangon has been bugged. This was the finding of the team we sent to Yangon," the ministry's spokesman Yuri Thamrin quoted Hamzah as telling the ambassador.
The bugging is a diplomatic embarrassment for Indonesia given that the intelligence services of an impoverished country like Myanmar were able to penetrate the embassy of the largest member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Myanmar, meanwhile, continues to put the regional grouping in a difficult position as it has to publicly defend Myanmar's treatment of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, even though the grouping does not agree with the junta's policies.
"We also express our deep concern as Myanmar is a fellow ASEAN member country ... this could undermine confidence within and among ASEAN nations," Yuri said.
The ministry has set up a joint investigating team, including members of the National Intelligence Agency, to periodically check all Indonesian embassy facilities and diplomatic missions overseas.
"We request that our deepest regrets be conveyed to the Myanmar government so that they can redress the situation and avoid similar bugging incidents in the future," he said.
According to Yuri, Ambassador Kwau Myint pledged to bring the matter up with the Myanmar government as soon as possible.
"We will wait for a clarification from Myanmar's government after our meeting with ambassador Kwau Myint," Yuri said.
The ambassador could not be reached for comment.