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Indonesia and Malaysia have to be silent says Downer

Australia says Indonesia and Malaysia have to be silent about supporting the assault on Afghanistan because of domestic pressures.

The Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says that silence does not mean a condemnation of the United States military action.

From Shanghai Graeme Dobell reports.

Mr Downer had separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Indonesia and Malaysia. He says they must be silent about the military action because of their Muslim populations. Mr Downer says the foreign ministers of the 21 APEC economies will meet tomorrow to finalise a statement for their ministers condemmning terrorism, but there'll be no reference to the attacks on Afghanistan.

18/10/01 4:36:59 | ABC Radio Australia News

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