From Australian this morning - not very convincing or worrying.
No specific info on attack: Downer
July 09, 2007
AUSTRALIA has no information about terrorists targeting anything specific in Indonesia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
"We don't have any information designating a specific target or for that matter a specific time of a terrorist attack," Mr Downer told ABC radio this morning.
"We have a constant flow of information about possible terrorist activity in Indonesia."
Mr Downer was speaking after the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reissued its travel warning to Indonesia yesterday.
The advisory said Australians should reconsider their need to travel to Indonesia.
"There have been recent arrests of high-level terrorist operatives in Indonesia, but we assess terrorists are continuing active planning of attacks," it said.
The recent arrest of high ranking Jemaah Islamiah operatives reminded Australia of the ongoing threat, Mr Downer said.
"It has triggered, and a number of other pieces of information have triggered, a reminder to the Australian public of where our travel advisory is at in relation to Indonesia."
Mr Downer would not comment on whether there had been an increase in so-called terrorist "chatter" - online communication between terrorists.
"Over the year it's been very hard to discern what is credible and what isn't," Mr Downer said.
"We've had to try to understand and work out the basis of that information we've been getting."
Mr Downer said soft targets like the nightclubs of Bali can often be targeted by terrorists looking to inflict maximum fatalities while avoiding high security areas.
"Those locations where westerners tend to concentrate can often be targets."
Mr Downer said he had not personally spoken to Indonesian ambassador Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb about the heightened advisory.
"My department's spoken with the embassy and they've spoken with officials in Jakarta as well."
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Australians had to be warned when it was beieved terrorist attacks were possible.
"The fact is we've seen what's happened in Indonesia before - the concern we have remains because people we know are involved in the planning of previous bombings, Noordin Top in particular, remain at large," he told ABC radio.
"When you receive information that suggests they're still engaged in planning such attacks, you can't just put it to one side."