View source for 2005 Indonesian embassy bioterrorism hoax

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
The '''2005 Indonesian embassy bioterrorism hoax''' occurred when [[Indonesia]]n [[ambassador]] to [[Australia]] [[Imron Cotan]] received a suspect letter addressed to him at the [[Embassy of Indonesia, Canberra|Indonesian Embassy]] in [[Canberra]], [[Australia]], on 1 June 2005. The suspect letter later turned out to be harmless.

==Events==
The letter was opened by his personal assistant and contained white bacterial powder and a threatening message.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15481770%255E2702,00.html |title=The Australian: 'Cowardly' attack on embassy &#91;June 02, 2005&#93; |website=[[The Australian]] |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050604035259/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15481770%255E2702,00.html |archive-date=4 June 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Prime Minister [[John Howard]] made an apology to Indonesia after the incident, describing the incident as "''a reckless act of indifference to human life''".

:''"Insofar as possible retaliatory action is concerned in Indonesia, there is always a danger of that," ''the Prime Minister said.'' "Just as we cannot guarantee that a random act of stupidity with an evil intent from among our 20 million people will not occur, equally I cannot expect a guarantee from the Indonesian Government that some evil act of retaliation will not occur in that country."''

The identity of the powder and whether it posed any health risk was initially unclear; initial testing of the powder detected traces of a "[[biological agent]]", but it was later found to be nontoxic. Approximately 50 staff members were quarantined for 12 hours. The embassy remained closed for several days following the incident.

The act is suspected to be related to the [[Schapelle Corby]] trial held at the time in [[Bali]], Indonesia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/pm-embassy-attack-makes-it-harder-for-corby-20050602-gdlfup.html|title=PM: embassy attack makes it harder for Corby|date=2 June 2005|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Other Indonesian [[Diplomatic mission]]s around Australia have reported receiving threatening emails and letters since the trial began. A bullet was sent in an envelope to the Indonesia consulate in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]].

On 3 June 2005, a section of [[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] was sealed off when the discovery of a suspicious package delivered to Foreign Minister [[Alexander Downer]] was discovered in the car park. The suspect package was taken away for analysis and no evacuations occurred. The analysis has since shown the contents to be harmless but forensic tests are continuing to establish if there are any links between this package and the earlier one sent to the Indonesian embassy.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1384068.htm ABC News items] {{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Various news reports, including those from [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] have reported that the enclosed letter was written in Indonesian, with a high degree of competence. However, this has been contradicted in other reports, see links below.

==See also==
*[[Bioterrorism]]

==References==
===Sources===
*[http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15482171-2,00.html Death delivered in a poison letter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050604032116/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15482171-2,00.html |date=4 June 2005 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050604022426/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C10117%2C15485268-2%2C00.html Embassy parcel 'was no threat']
*[https://archive.today/20070728091913/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15494507-31317,00.html Letter did not name Schapelle]
*[http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15492962-31317,00.html Embassies secured amid payback fear]{{Dead link|date=May 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15502244%255E2702,00.html Embassy returned to normal after scare]{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} 

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

{{Australia–Indonesia relations}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Indonesian Embassy Bioterrorism Hoax}}
[[Category:2005 crimes in Australia]]
[[Category:2000s in Canberra]]
[[Category:Australia–Indonesia relations]]
[[Category:Hoaxes in Australia]]
[[Category:2005 hoaxes]]
[[Category:Attacks on diplomatic missions in Australia]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Australia in the 2000s]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Oceania in 2005]]