Australian Embassy Issues Statement over Alleged Espionage

Jakarta (Antara) - Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty was on Friday called in to a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss Indonesia's concerns about media allegations of intelligence activity by Australia. "Ambassador Moriarty took careful note of the issues raised and will report back to the Australian Government," the Australian Embassy here said in a media release on Friday. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned Greg Moriarty to respond to charges of wiretapping facilities being found at the Australian embassy in Jakarta, as revealed by the Sydney Morning Herald. Director of Information and Media Siti Sofia said here on Friday that the Foreign Ministry had summoned the Australian ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty. "The summons of the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty took place this morning, as explained yesterday," stated Sofia. The Foreign Ministry has demanded an explanation from the Australian government about the wiretapping facility that was built in the embassy building in Jakarta and at the Consulate General in Denpasar. News of the wiretapping facilities broke only one day after the Sydney Morning Herald published a report identifying similar facilities at the US Embassy in Jakarta. The Foreign Ministry holds that if the Sydney Morning Herald's reports are accurate, then these actions of espionage by the Australian government cannot be justified. (*)