E&OE
30 November 2008
Television Interview, BBC World News
Subjects: Mumbai bombings; Thailand
COMPERE: Let's talk now to Stephen Smith, he's Australia's Foreign Minister, he's with us here in the studio in London. Thank you for coming in, Foreign Minister. Australia of course no stranger to terrorism with the Bali attacks; two Australians I think killed in these attacks. How alarmed are you by this - this new style of Fedayeen commando-style attacks we've seen in Mumbai over the last few days?
STEPHEN SMITH: We've had two casualties; one that we've officially confirmed, one that we can't yet officially confirm but the family and the Australian Government believe is dead.
We've accounted for all the Australians who we knew were in the area so, in terms of our casualty rate, it will be a question of whether there are any Australians we don't know about in the bodies. And we think that's a remote possibility. So we're certainly obviously very concerned for the families of those who died.
I think the real concern here is we've seen firstly, so far as injury is concerned, a terrorist attack which is very sophisticated, very coordinated. But also, for the first time, aimed effectively at western sites or areas where westerners gather. And some suggestions that may have been aimed in particular at United States or United Kingdom nationals. That I think is the qualitative difference and of particular concern.
COMPERE: India very quick to blame external forces and neighbours; how dangerous do you think this is in terms of the peace process between India and Pakistan?
SMITH: First, I think we need to be very cautious and do a very careful assessment about who we think is behind this, that's the first point; people shouldn't rush to conclusions.
Secondly, a good relationship between India and Pakistan is of course essential. And, in the recent period, not just since President Zardari's election but before that, relations between India and Pakistan had substantially improved. And, under President Zardari, very warm expressions of relationships between India and Pakistan.
This will put pressure on, but I've been particularly impressed with the comments that we've seen from President Zardari, from Prime Minister Gilani, from Defence Minister Mukhtar and, in particular from the Foreign...
COMPERE: What about the comments, though, from the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh?
SMITH: Let me finish, with Foreign Minister Kasuri who has made this point; I think it's a telling point: both Pakistan and India this year have been the subject of terrible terrorist attacks. They should stand shoulder to shoulder together because there is a threat there. The threat is not India and Pakistan; the threat is terrorism.
And so, yes, there needs to be a very careful assessment about where this has come from, but it's very important that no-one jumps to conclusions. And of course the Pakistani Government have expressly not just not condoned it they've condemned it and ruled out any involvement on their own part.
COMPERE: Do you think then that the Indian authorities did jump to conclusions with their initial statements?
SMITH: No, we need to do a very careful assessment here. There are suggestions, for example, that there's a new group known as the Deccan Mujahideen or the Indian Mujahideen. There are also suggestions that a well-known terrible terrorist organisation, the LeT is behind this. They are known to have links outside of India.
So when these terrible events occur, I believe it's very important to just do the very careful assessment which is now occurring in India as we've seen from the suggestion by their Home Minister that he may want to take political responsibility for - for it.
COMPERE: Are you satisfied that the LeT - the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba - does not have any strong links with ISI, the Pakistani Military Intelligence now? Is Australia satisfied that that is the case?
SMITH: Well certainly we want to ensure that there is no relationship between any of the agencies of any government with terrorists as a general proposition. I've been, I must say, very impressed with the comments by the Pakistani Government from the President down. But, clearly, what's occurring in terms of terrorism in India, in Pakistan and in Afghanistan is something that we need to deal with together.
This is a problem for the Governments of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, it's a regional international community issue and we need to ensure that all of those governments are working closely together.
Now, given the long-standing history between India and Pakistan, of course that has its moments or has its difficulties. But we need to encourage that continuing dialogue and we need to give them the support of the regional and international community.
COMPERE: If I may, just briefly, just moving to the situation in Thailand at the moment, in Bangkok, I mean how alarmed are you by this stand-off by what are effectively anti-democratic protesters blockading those two airports?
SMITH: Well we're certainly very concerned. Firstly, we want these issues to be resolved in a peaceful and peaceable and lawful way. But, secondly, we've now got hundreds of stranded Australians and we're very frustrated at the lack of effort, in our eyes, of the Thai airlines and some of the Thai tourist authorities.
We're trying to make special arrangements with our own airlines Qantas and Jetstar to get stranded Australians out of it. A very frustrating time for us and it's becoming very frustrating and very distressing for Australians who are stranded there.
COMPERE: But that can only come with some political shift; what should be done politically, then?
SMITH: Well we want to see a political resolution; we don't want to see Thailand return to a coup state or to the intervention of the military...
COMPERE: [Indistinct] two years ago.
SMITH: ...and the army have made it clear they don't want that to occur either. But the primary problem at the moment is this political dispute needs to be resolved peacefully and politically. We need to get the airports in Bangkok, both the international and the domestic airport, clear so that thousands of passengers, hundreds of Australians, hundreds of UK nationals can go about their business and get back home.
COMPERE: Okay. Stephen Smith, thanks very much.
SMITH: Thank you.
[Ends]
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