Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. On the fourth anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombing, would the minister update the House on how Australia is cooperating with Indonesia to combat the threat of terrorism?

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Gilmore for her question and the interest that she shows in the issue. The Prime Minister has spoken about the anniversary already. I add that the Australian consul-general has organised a memorial service in Bali for today which was attended by Ambassador Bill Farmer, our ambassador to Indonesia. Nineteen representatives of the victims’ families and survivors travelled from Australia for today’s ceremony.

Since the Bali bombing, there has been extraordinarily effective cooperation between Australia and Indonesia in the area of counterterrorism. The House would understand that we cannot talk about it in great detail. Nevertheless, the work that has been done by the Australian Federal Police, Australian intelligence agencies and elements of our defence forces alongside their Indonesian counterparts—combined with the diplomatic relationship—has been extraordinarily important in countering terrorism. Australia and Indonesia co-hosted the Bali Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism. Australia and Indonesia have not only cooperated very closely but also done more than that: we have led the way in building regional cooperation in the area of counterterrorism.

I am not sure if the Leader of the Opposition was referring to terrorism as a whole or terrorism in South-East Asia in his remarks, so I might not be doing him justice. But I thought that he was suggesting that Jemaah Islamiah had got stronger since the time of the Bali bombing. I do not think that that would be our assessment. The Indonesians, with the support of the Americans, us and others, have done a very good job in addressing the issue of Jemaah Islamiah. It certainly would not be the Indonesian assessment that Jemaah Islamiah has got stronger in that time.

Indonesia has tried and convicted over 160 people for terrorism related crimes. Six people have been sentenced to death. It is important that this is understood: three of the six who have been sentenced to death are people who were directly involved in the 2002 Bali bombing. Sometimes you hear people say that the Indonesians have let Abu Bakar Bashir get off. The fact is, they have sentenced to death three people who were directly involved in those Bali bombings. There are eight people serving life sentences, and a further 23 serving sentences of 10 or more years.

It is important that we in this country understand that the Indonesians have been doing a very good job in countering terrorism. They have been doing a very effective job, and they are very committed. This is not easy. The politics of handling this issue in Indonesia are, as some in the House would understand, completely different from the politics of handling that issue in a country like this. It is a totally different environment. In spite of that, President Yudhoyono, his ministers and officials have addressed this issue very robustly. Having said all of that, I would not go as far as my predecessor, Gareth Evans, went a year or so ago when he said that Jemaah Islamiah was pretty much out of business. I would be a little less optimistic than that. There is still a problem. There is still an active network of jihadists in Indonesia and in South-East Asia. But a lot has been done to address that issue.

Finally, when it comes to advocacy for moderate Islam, it has to be said that that is not something that gets much publicity here in Australia. But the Indonesian government has been doing a very good job. Nothing is more effective in terms of the advocacy for moderation in relation to Islam than advocacy coming from Muslims and Muslim governments. The Indonesian government is very focused on that. We would like to congratulate them for the work that they have done despite the difficulties that they face and, frankly, will continue to face.