Indonesian embassies bugged
Indonesian embassies in seven countries may have been wiretapped by the intelligence services of their host nations, a lawmaker said.
A member of the House of Representatives Commission I on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Djoko Susilo of the National Mandate Party, said the alleged wiretapping was revealed during a session with the State Code Agency. Djoko said the telephone lines to Indonesian embassies in Finland, Norway, Denmark, South Korea, Japan, China and Burma had been bugged for years. "The wiretapping was discovered in a regular survey during the 2005-2006 period," Djoko told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting. Djoko said wiretapping devices were also found in the rooms of Indonesian ambassadors to Japan and Canada. In the Indonesian embassy to Burma in Rangoon, the listening devices were discovered only after meticulous testing. "An investigation revealed that there was a 70-per cent decrease in the electrical power going into the telephone lines in the embassy," he said, adding that a decrease of more than 50 per cent usually indicated that wiretapping was going on. Djoko did not give details on how the alleged wiretapping was conducted in Beijing and the Scandinavian countries. He said the bugging of Indonesian missions in the Scandinavian countries could have something to do with the Helsinki peace accord signed by the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement in August of last year. The Foreign Ministry should quickly write to host countries of the embassies to express its concern over the alleged violations, Djoko suggested. "Especially Burma, as this is the second time they have gone too far," Djoko said. Two years ago, Djoko disclosed wiretapping at the Indonesian embassy in Burma, a revelation that soured the relationship between the two countries. Indonesia appeared to be embarrassed by the wiretapping, since it meant the intelligence services of an impoverished country like Burma were able to penetrate the embassy of the largest member of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya could not be reached for comment.
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