Indonesia’s embassy in Australia was closed on Wednesday after receiving an envelope that officials feared contained a “biological agent," as a public backlash rages against the conviction in Bali of an Australian on drug charges.
“The preliminary test suggested it was a biological agent and further tests are now being carried out,” Australian Prime Minister John Howard told reporters.
Australian Federal Police said the envelope was delivered to the embassy around 10:30 a.m. through the normal mail service and identified as suspicious by embassy staff. The Indonesian ambassador to Australia was not inside the building.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there were 22 staff inside the embassy who could be isolated for 48 hours. Australian Federal Police Superintendent Mick Kilfoyle said the staff were going through a “precautionary decontamination."
Yuri Thamrin, a spokesman for the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, said the sealed envelope contained white powder.
“Certainly, the sender is trying to give the impression that the powder looks like anthrax,” Thamrin said in Jakarta.
A biological agent is any bacteria, virus or toxin or material derived from them that can cause disease or harm to humans, animals or plants.
Australia’s opposition Labor foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said the Indonesian Ambassador Imron Cotan told him the envelope had been opened at the embassy and the substance spilled onto the floor. Cotan said there were 50 staff in the building.
Emergency services closed off the Indonesian embassy in the upmarket Canberra suburb of Yarralumla. It is surrounded by the French, Egyptian and U.S. embassies.
'Great damage'
Beauty therapist Schapelle Corby, 27, was sentenced to 20 years jail last Friday for smuggling 9 lbs. of marijuana into the resort island of Bali last October.
Howard said it would be a “remarkable coincidence” if the incident at the embassy was not related to the Corby case.
“It will do great damage in the eyes of many Indonesian people to the relationship between our countries and it certainly won’t help Schapelle Corby,” Howard said.
“It’s an act of reckless indifference to human life and I apologize on behalf of the Australian people to the Indonesian embassy and to the Indonesian government,” he said.
Corby’s conviction sparked an emotional backlash in Australia, with the Indonesian embassy receiving threatening telephone calls and many Australians calling for a Bali boycott and a return of their Indonesian tsunami aid donations.
Corby says she is innocent and that the drugs found in her surfboard bag by a Bali customs officer were planted there by someone at an Australian airport. Newspaper polls show 90 percent of Australians believe Corby is innocent.
Many Australians believe Corby was not given a fair trial and her lawyers on Wednesday formally launched an appeal against the verdict.
In April, bullets were sent to the Indonesian consulate in the west Australian city of Perth along with a letter containing a warning that staff would be killed unless Corby was freed.
Downer also condemned the backlash against Indonesia and threats to its diplomatic staff in Australia.
“We condemn this sort of abuse,” said Downer.
“We would urge people that are concerned about Schapelle Corby to ensure they put their energy into supporting the legal defense team and not put their energy into abuse and denigration of Indonesia, its institutions and its leaders.”
