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Downer's JI message was mixed, says Rudd

Friday Oct 14 12:27 AEST

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's visit to Indonesia has been fruitless because he carried "a mixed message" about outlawing terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), Labor has said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said Mr Downer's position on banning JI had been inconsistent and the Indonesians had not taken him seriously.

He accused Mr Downer of demonstrating "foreign policy incompetence" during his two-day trip to Jakarta this week.

"Back here in Australia he told the world that he didn't think it mattered all that much whether JI was banned by Indonesia or not," Mr Rudd told reporters.

"He then goes off to Indonesia to ask the government there to ban JI.

"Is it any wonder that he's encountered difficulties, because he's carrying a mixed message?

"If you're not serious about banning JI yourself how can you convince your Indonesian counterparts that they should be serious about banning JI?

"We now have the foreign minister returning from Indonesia ... virtually empty-handed."

Mr Rudd said Labor wanted JI banned in every country because the terror group comprised "thugs and murderers" who had taken Australian lives.

Australians wanted JI banned and Mr Downer had to do his best to protect them from terrorism, he said.

Sunday Oct 2 12:30 AEST

Saturday night's bombings in Bali are the 11th attacks believed to have been carried out in Indonesia by terrorist groups since December 2000.

December 2000:
Bombs explode at 11 churches across Indonesia on Christmas Eve, killing 19 and injuring 100. The attacks have been blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah.

November 2001:
Grenade hurled at International School in Jakarta. There were no injuries.

December 2001:
Singapore officials uncover a plot to bomb the Australian High Commission and other western targets in Singapore.

September 2002:
Australia closes East Timor Embassy after reports of possible terror attacks.

October 12, 2002:
Two bombs explode in a nightclub district in Bali killing 202, mostly tourists, including 88 Australians.

November 2002:
Australia moves its Philippines embassy in Manila into a more secure compound after warnings of a possible terrorist attack.

December 2002:
Bomb explodes outside a McDonalds on Sulawesi, killing three people. Militants linked to Jemaah Islamiyah were blamed.

August 5th 2003
A huge bomb explodes at the American-owned J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta, killing 13 people and injuring 149 others.

September 9th 2004:
A suicide bomber blows himself up outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, killing 11 and injuring more than 150.

May 2005:
Two bombs explode in the town on Sulawesi, killing 22.

August 2005:
An explosion in the east Indonesian city of Ambon injures seven.

October 1, 2005:
An explosion rips through a stake bar at Kuta square at 9.30pm (AEST). About 10 minutes later, a second explosion rocks Jimbaran beach about 30km away and at 9.41pm (AEST), Jimbaran is hit by a second blast. At least 32 people are thought to have died and dozens have been injured.