(18 Nov 2013) Indonesia on Monday recalled its ambassador from Australia and was reviewing bilateral cooperation after reports that an Australian security agency attempted to listen in on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's mobile phone in 2009.
Australian Broadcasting Corp. and The Guardian reported on Monday that they had documents from former US National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden showing that the Australian agency also targeted the phones of Indonesian first lady Kristiani Herawati and another eight government ministers and officials.
The documents reportedly showed that the Australian Defence Signals Directorate, now the top-secret Australian Signals Directorate, attempted to listen to the president's phone conversations on at least one occasion and tracked activity on the phone for 15 days in August 2009.
Addressing a news conference in Jakarta on Monday Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, said the alleged action by Australia "violates every single decent and legal instrument that I can think of, national in Indonesia, national in Australia, international as well."
He confirmed that Indonesian Ambassador in Canberra was being recalled, and had been told "to immediately make his way back to Jakarta to receive further instruction."
Natalegawa said that Indonesia had reviewed information shared by Australia regarding the issue and that the "dismissive answer" was unsatisfactory; "as if this is an activity that has been carried out as a matter of course in relations among countries."
He said he wanted "quite desperately", an explanation as to how private conversations involving the president and first lady of Indonesia might be relevant to Australian security.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was not in government in 2009, meanwhile declined to comment on the reports in Parliament.
But Bob Carr, Australia's foreign minister until Abbott's coalition won September elections, advised Abbott to assure Yudhoyono that if his phone had been tapped, it wouldn't happen again.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
