'Suspicious letter sent to foreign ministry'

'Suspicious letter sent to foreign ministry'

Agence France-Presse, Jakarta

The Indonesian foreign ministry has received a suspicious letter
bearing an Australian stamp and containing an unidentified white
powder, a report said on Sunday.

The letter was received at the foreign ministry on Friday, the
Detikcom online news service said, quoting the ministry's
director for diplomatic security, Banua Raja Manik.

Banua could not say to whom the letter was addressed but said
that upon discovery of the white powder inside it, the letter was
immediately sent to police headquarters in Jakarta.

Many Australians are angry at a 20-year jail sentence passed
by a Bali court last month on a young Australian woman for
trafficking in marijuana.

The Indonesian embassy in Canberra was twice temporarily
closed earlier this month after suspicious packages or letters
containing white powder were received there.

The first letter contained a bacteriological agent related to
anthrax but was later determined not to be dangerous.

Similar letters were sent to the office of the head of the
state court in Bali and the office of the island's chief
prosecutor.

Prime Minister John Howard and other Australian officials have
strongly condemned the incidents.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa,
commenting on the suspect letter to the ministry, was quoted by
the Republika daily as saying that "we will not be intimidated
and deem this a cowardly act."

Marty and other officials at his office could not be reached
for comment on Sunday. Jakarta police could also not immediately
be reached for comment.