Matthew Moore, Mike Seccombe and Marian Wilkinson – The Indonesian Government has flatly rejected a suggestion by Australia's Defence Minister, Robert Hill, that Australian troops could pursue terrorist organisations in Indonesia.
A spokesman for Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Department, Marty Natalegawa, said last night that Indonesia "would not accept the presence of foreign military on our soil".
He said Australia had not formally conveyed to the Indonesian Government any suggested changes to the relationship between Australian and Indonesian forces. He was one of a host of Indonesian military and foreign affairs officials who expressed surprise at the overtures Senator Hill made on national television for closer co-operation between the two military forces.
Senator Hill told ABC's Lateline on Tuesday night that Australian forces could be sent to Indonesia to help root out terrorist organisations. Asked if that could mean SAS troops, for example, operating in Indonesia with that country's forces, he said: "That's already happening in our region, where the US is working with the Philippines military to tackle their terrorist issue. "I don't think it's out of the question that some time in the future our forces may well be working with forces of other regional states to tackle this joint [terrorist] enemy." He also said Australia may need to train Indonesian Kopassus, or special forces, troops, since Kopassus was "Indonesia's most effective response to terrorism".
Indonesian defence sources said they were concerned about any move to send Australian troops to Indonesia. One senior Defence Ministry official said there had been no discussions about using troops from other countries. Also, the tension between the Australian and Indonesia military – including the cessation of Kopassus training in Australia – resulting from East Timor was yet to be resolved.
An Indonesian security official said an agreement between Indonesia and Australia, negotiated by former prime minister Paul Keating, had been frozen during the East Timor independence ballot. A similar agreement was needed before any changes to existing arrangements could proceed.
Only last week, in Jakarta, Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, denied a report that Australia was planning to start training Indonesia's Kopassus troops again. Human rights groups in Australia and Indonesia are certain to be alarmed at any moves to re-establish links with Kopassus, because of its long history of human rights abuses.
Senator Hill also let slip secret intelligence information that people trained by al-Qaeda are in Australia, and that supporters, and possibly operatives, of the radical Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) – which is the chief suspect in the Bali bombings – are probably here, too.
He said there had been "constant movement from Indonesia into Australia" and indicated the Government had been aware of the presence of these people for up to six months. Senator Hill said: "We know that within Australia there are those who were trained by al Qaeda. We know there has been constant movement from Indonesia into Australia and that may well include JI supporters. It may even include JI operatives."
The Opposition leader, Simon Crean, said he had been given the same highly classified information and had kept it confidential. "He blurts out what I'm sworn to secrecy on," he said. Meanwhile, the US Government is expected to announce today that the JI is being officially added to its list of terrorist organisations. The JI is also expected to be included on the UN list of known terrorist entities whose finances can be tracked and whose assets can be seized.