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| Down Under |
| Embassy attack bacteria 'not dangerous' |
| 2005-06-02 |
| The bacteria sent in a suspicious package to the Indonesian embassy in Canberra is not believed to be dangerous, police said today. "It looks very unlikely that the substance contains any bacteria of any significant pathological significance," ACT chief police officer John Davies told reporters. Mr Davies said the findings were revealed in an interim report and an investigation into the incident is ongoing. "The sending of that particular letter was designed to cause major disruption and instil fear," he told reporters. Earlier today, Prime Minister John Howard refused to detail the contents of the letter but said he had no reason not to believe the attack was linked to Corby's conviction for drug smuggling in Bali. "I've been briefed on the substance of the letter but because that is part of the investigation I am not going to talk about what I've been told, and I hope your listeners will understand that," he told John Laws on Southern Cross Broadcasting. "You asked me; 'Has it been translated?' and the answer to that question is yes. I have been briefed on the broad substance of the letter but because the substance of the letter and what is in it is material to the police investigation, I do not at this stage want to say anything further." Asked if the attack was related to the Corby case, Mr Howard replied: "It's hard to escape the belief that there was a connection, let's put it that way. Mr Howard said the embassy incident would not hurt relations between the Australian and Indonesian governments but would undoubtedly have an impact on how some Indonesians viewed Australia. He stressed people should not overdramatise the impact of what had happened. "I think it's important that we don't throw up our arms in horror and say the relationship is destroyed," he said. "Things like this happen. When something infinitely worse, namely the murder of 88 Australians in Bali occurred in Bali in 2002, it wasn't an expression of the attitude of the Balinese people. The Balinese people in fact retained the affection of visiting Australians." |
| Posted by:Omoluger Ebbatle8086 |
| #1 "You asked me; 'Has it been translated?' The letter was not in English? How curious! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-06-02 09:12 |