Indonesia would be entitled to launch a pre-emptive strike against terrorists in Australia threatening the country, if Canberra refused to take action against them, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday.
His comments came amid a political dispute over the wisdom of Prime Minister John Howard's dictum that pre-emptive strikes against terrorist bases abroad were permissible as a last resort in the protection of Australia.
The opposition Labor Party, which hopes to deny Howard's conservative coalition a fourth term at a general election next month, has ruled out approving pre-emptive strikes.
Downer, speaking on local radio, said he would expect another country to take pre-emptive action if terrorists in Australia represented a direct threat.
"If the Indonesians rang us up and said, `there's a terrorist group in the Kimberleys who are planning to launch an attack on Kupang,' and we said, `well, we don't really care, that's your problem, pal, and we're not going to do anything about it,' and they sent an F-16 over and bombed the terrorist group, you could understand that," Downer said.
Labor leader Mark Latham, described Downer's comments as "horrifying" and evidence he was unfit for the job.
"He's made a lot of errors in recent times as foreign minister, I just don't think he's fit for the job," Latham said. "I find it horrifying that the foreign minister would be publicly talking about circumstances where it is understandable, if another country attacked Australia."
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition yesterday filed impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, restarting a process sidelined by the Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The filings come on the same day that a committee in the House of Representatives was to begin hearings into impeachment complaints against Marcos, accused of corruption tied to a spiraling scandal over bogus flood control projects. Under the constitution, an impeachment by the
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS