Indonesia says Australian Government aid money has been used to help seperatist movements in Indonesia. The head of the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, Imron Cotan, says the Australian aid bureau, AusAid, has given funds to two Non-Government Organisations which support rebel movements. AusAid has denied that any aid funding has been used contrary to Indonesian law. Mr Cotan told a Parliamentary hearing in Canberra that Indonesia is gathering evidence which it will give to the Australian Government.

Presenter/Interviewer: Graeme Dobell

Speakers: Imron Cotan, Indonesia's top diplomat in Canberra

Dobell: Indonesia suspects that some in Australia want to repeat the East Timor experience in the troubled provinces of Aceh and Papua. The Australian Government, in turn, stresses its support for Indonesia's territorial integrity. And the government's aid bureau, AusAid, has introduced a new code of conduct for Non-Government Organisations.

The funding guidelines ban NGOs from using Australian Government money for political or evangelical purposes. AusAid says all non-government groups must observe Indonesian law. And it notes that Indonesia has taken no action against any Australian NGOs working in Indonesia.

But giving evidence to an Australian Parliamentary inquiry, Indonesia's top diplomat in Canberra, Imron Cotan, charged that two Non Government groups have used AusAid money to support separatist movements.

He says Indonesia is gathering evidence and will pass it to the Australian Government. After the inquiry, Mr Cotan said some Australians are helping separatist movements in Aceh and Papua.

Cotan: "Some of your people here in Australia barrack [for] these separatist movements, so we have to deal with this issue cautiously because if it is out of hands that can also have implications to our bilateral ties."

Dobell: Does it raise questions for Jakarta about Australia's good intentions?

Cotan: "Well there is no doubt that the Australian government has been always sincere to us, trying to help us in overcoming this, but again the government, your government certainly cannot let's say control all these people, all these non-government organisations as to allow them to help the separatists. But they made it very, very clear to us that they will be more than willing to help us to prevent at least the use of your funds to finance the movements."

Dobell: How is money from the Australian government aid bureau, AusAid being used to help separatists?

Cotan: "Well they have conducted trainings, education seminars simply to advance their objective, and they made it very clear, for example one of these organisations, I do not want to name names, in their constitution they mentioned about helping Papua to become an independent state. So I believe they are now tampering in Indonesia's sovereignty."

Dobell: Have you got enough evidence yet to get the Australian government to act, you said that you've been gathering evidence, do you have enough to ask the Australian government to take any action?

Cotan: "We are still collecting evidence but the fact that your government has agreed to install to establish a code of conduct underlying the fact that we have legitimate concern."

Dobell: You said that there is a sense of betrayal in Indonesia about Australia's activities in East Timor. How is that sense of betrayal influencing Indonesian suspicions about Australian aid work?

Cotan: "Again I do not believe that there is a direct link between the two, but taking into account that some Indonesians felt betrayed by Australia's involvement in Indonesia, I would understand that some of them are suspicious about not the government, but some people in Australia in Papua."