JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I am here with Ambassador Malik of the United Kingdom, because 16 years ago today, there was an enormous tragedy. It was a very dark day in the history of Indonesia and Australia. Two-hundred and two innocent people lost their lives in the Bali Bombings; 88 Australians, 23 from the United Kingdom, 38 from Indonesia and others from 19 different countries.
There are many victims from those bombings who still today bear the scars from those events; emotional and physical and our heart goes out to them and to their families.
But since those tragic days and events 16 years ago, Indonesia and Australia, two great friends and important partners have come even closer together to work with our law enforcement intelligence agencies and with the United Kingdom and other countries to tackle terrorism, to stamp it out and to ensure that there is no repeat of the tragic events that occurred here in Bali 16 years ago, to this very day. Ambassador?
MOAZZAM MALIK:
I would like to join the Australian Treasurer in expressing condolences on behalf of the British Government and the British people. This was a tragic event, as the Treasurer’s explained. Many Brits lost their lives, but also many people from all over the world who were here in Bali just to have a holiday.
So, this commemoration today, 16 years on, is an indication that we will not forget the victims who fell, whether from Australia, or the UK, or Indonesia, or elsewhere. It is also a reminder that the struggle against terrorism continues. We work together with Indonesia, with Australia and many other countries to try and keep Indonesians, Brits, Australians, others safe here.
And it reminds us that these tragedies can strike all over the world, not just here in Indonesia but in other places. This is a struggle that faces us all in modern times and it is a struggle that requires us to work together. We are all victims and to defeat the scourge of extremism and terrorism, we all have to work together.
JOURNALIST:
Are there specific operations with the three countries to fight terrorism?
MOAZZAM MALIK:
So, we have been working since the Bali bombings, Australia, the UK, the US, many other partners, with Indonesia to reinforce Indonesia’s counter terrorism capability. We work very closely at the JCLec, the training centre in Semarang. It’s a key facility, it’s become a regional leader, not just a leader in Indonesia, but a regional facility and we’re very proud of the work that’s been done there.
And Indonesia of course continues to face many risks. We saw the Surabaya bombings in May. But equally the Indonesian authorities have shown themselves to be pretty capable at dealing with this sort of challenge and we will continue to support them in their efforts without hesitation.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Terrorism is a never ending struggle and we have a joint responsibility to tackle it wherever we find it and the cooperation has extended to resourcing, to training, to capacity building. And we will continue to work very closely with Indonesia and our other friends in the neighbourhood to do our very best to protect our public.
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible]
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well we’re- there’s a number of efforts, the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement, the work that we’ve done with cooperation in exchange of personnel and Australian Federal Police and intelligence services are working very closely, on a daily basis - with their counterparts, sharing information so that we don’t work in silos, that we all know what the threats are and how we can work together to prevent them.