ABC AUSTRALIA, 13/08/2004 09:22:51
Inquiry finds failure of intelligence prior to Bali bombings
The Australian government says the Senate inquiry into the intelligence leading up to
the Bali bombings, has cleared the government of claims it had prior warning of the
terrorist attack.
The inquiry found there had been a failure of intelligence but no single agency was to
blame, as there was no specific warning that Jemaah Islamiah would launch a terrorist
attack in Bali.
But our reporter, Stephanie Kennedy, says a majority of the committee found the
travel warnings didn't reflect the threat assessments at the time.
The intelligence warned that Australians were terrorist targets in Indonesia but the
foreign affairs advice described Bali as "calm" and "normal".
The foreign minister, Alexander Downer, says his department did its best to warn
travellers on the basis of the available information.
"I was in Bali myself a few days before the Bali bombing and everything to me looked
entirely normal," he said.
However, a spokesman from the opposition Labor Party, Kevin Rudd, says future
travel advice must be as informative as possible.
"Jemaah Islamiah is still out there alive and therefore we need to be very careful in
ensuring that the Australian travelling public have access to this information," he said.
Minor political parties, the Greens and Democrats, want a Royal Commission to
further investigate, but the committee did not go that far, instead recommending an
independent inquiry.
The senators also want the government to look at a national compensation scheme
for victims of terrorism.
The government says the report finally puts to rest the outrageous claim that it had
prior knowledge of the attack.
13/08/2004 09:22:51 | ABC Radio Australia News
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