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| Down Under |
| Biological agent shuts Indonesian embassy |
| 2005-06-01 |
| An envelope containing a biological agent has been sent to the Indonesian embassy in Canberra in an apparent reprisal for Schapelle Corby's jailing in Bali. The embassy has been shut down and its 22 staff will remain in isolation for at least 48 hours after the envelope tested positive for the as-yet unidentified substance. Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer condemned whoever had sent the package and said it would not help Corby's case. "Further analysis of the powder has tested positive as a biological agent so further testing will need to be carried out to find out what that substance actually is," Mr Downer told Parliament. Fire, ambulance and police officers raced to the embassy after staff discovered the package about 10.30am (AEST) today. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said he spoke to the Indonesian Ambassador Imron Cotan this afternoon to express Labor's outrage at the "apparent attack". Mr Cotan told him 50 members of staff at the embassy had been quarantined for 48 hours, contrary to Mr Downer's earlier statement in parliament that only 22 staff were in the building. The letter arrived at the embassy this morning and a substance spilled onto the floor when it was opened, Mr Rudd told reporters in Canberra. Mr Downer pleaded with the Australian public to stop attacking Indonesia over Corby's 20-year jail sentence for drug trafficking, handed down in Denpasar last week. Talkback radio has been swamped by angry callers and some aid agencies have reported calls from donors to the tsunami fund asking for their money back. Others have called for a boycott of travel to the archipelago. "I know a lot of people in Australia are upset by the Corby verdict," Mr Downer said today as he revealed the incident at the embassy. But denigrating Australia's northern neighbour would not help, he said. "To continually attack Indonesia and denigrate its institutions and leaders will build up a good deal of anti-Australian sentiment in Indonesia and it will make it very difficult to conclude [prisoner transfer] agreements of this kind, particularly through public institutions like the Indonesian Parliament." Today's incident followed death threats made last month to the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, and the sending of bullets to the Indonesian consulate in Perth in April. Both incidents were linked to the Corby case. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #1 Mailed bullets and biological agents? Indonesians can relax. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-06-01 08:38 |