"The President has received the foreign minister`s report over the issue. The President asked the minister to communicate with the parties concerned and ask for their clarifications," Presidential Spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to ask for clarifications from concerned parties regarding wiretapping issues by foreign embassies in Indonesia.

"The President has received the foreign ministers report over the issue. The President asked the minister to communicate with the parties concerned and ask for their clarifications," Presidential Spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said here on Friday.

He said that in response to the news about the alleged tapping activities, the ministry of foreign affairs had conducted communications with parties concerned to seek official confirmation.

"If the report about the wiretapping is true, it should be regretted because a diplomatic relation should not be contaminated by a tapping activity," he said.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said the Indonesian government had expressed its attitude with regard to the alleged espionage activities.

"If this is true, of course it would make us unhappy and we will say it is unprofessional," he said.

He stressed that wiretapping was an indecent act, yet the Indonesian government was still waiting for official explanations from the parties concerned.

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Australian Ambassador Greg Moriarty to respond to charges of wiretapping facilities being found at the Australian embassy in Jakarta, as revealed by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Director of Information and Media Siti Sofia said here on Friday that the Foreign Ministry had summoned the Australian ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty.

"The summons of the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty took place this morning, as explained yesterday," stated Sofia.

The Foreign Ministry has demanded an explanation from the Australian government about the wiretapping facility that was built in the embassy building in Jakarta and at the Consulate General in Denpasar.

News of the wiretapping facilities broke only one day after the Sydney Morning Herald published a report identifying similar facilities at the US Embassy in Jakarta.

The Foreign Ministry holds that if the Sydney Morning Heralds reports are accurate, then these actions of espionage by the Australian government cannot be justified.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry had issued a press release noting its demands for an explanation of the news published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Oct. 31, 2013 regarding the existence and use of wiretapping facilities at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and other countries in the region.

As neighbors and friends, the actions reported by the Sidney Morning Herald do not reflect the spirit of friendly relations that have been established and cannot be accepted by the Government of Indonesia.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013