CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TUESDAY - DARWIN
Surrounded by his security detail, Prime Minister Koshi was ushered into Sentoro’s suite at the Hotel Tropical, Darwin’s leading hotel. Koshi was giving a press conference before flying out of Darwin courtesy of an RAAF jet that afternoon. The whole top floor of the hotel had been booked out for the Prime Minister’s entourage and was under tight security. Koshi looked pale and tired after his ordeal but managed a smile when greeted by Sentoro. Anna was dressed and groomed immaculately and showed no outward signs of the stress she was feeling. She escorted him to a plush lounge chair and sat opposite him, waving the officials away so they could have their conversation in private. A waiter came and delivered them tea and coffee.
Sentoro asked him whether he had recovered from his ordeal. Koshi nodded his head and acknowledged the efforts of the Australian police to keep him safe. In particular he praised the efforts of Jake Stafford in securing his safety and recommended he be rewarded for his efforts. Sentoro explained that for security reasons they were keeping Jake’s role quiet but he would be rewarded in the future.
They discussed the approach to the press conference they were about to give in the conference room at the hotel. This was mainly to give the Japanese Prime Minister an opportunity to express his thanks to the Australian public and to demonstrate that the business of government would continue despite the actions of terrorists. They also went over the process involved in implementing the newly agreed Japan Australia Treaty. After nearly an hour’s discussion, they rose and made their way to the conference centre which was packed with people from the media and security.
Sentoro made the opening remarks praising Prime Minister Koshi for his courage in the face of his ordeal and how his leadership had ensured a long lasting friendship with Australia. Koshi limped to the rostrum to the spontaneous applause of the audience. He expressed his deepest sympathy to the family of the late Prime Minister Murray and to the families of the other Australians who had lost their lives. He thanked the police and others involved in securing his safety from the terrorists. He stressed that the recent crisis had further strengthened the Japan Australia relationship and had bonded the two nations inexorably together. The newly signed treaty would continue as a legacy to Neville Murray. He stepped down from the rostrum to generous applause from the media.
Sentoro then took her place on the dais and reiterated Koshi’s remarks about the strength of the Japan-Australia relationship in a brief speech. She vowed that neither Australia nor Japan would be cowed by terrorism and new counter-terrorism measures would be introduced in the next sitting of the Australian Parliament. She announced that there would be a Day of Mourning in Australia on the following Friday to coincide with the state funeral for Murray in Melbourne. She then outlined the progress of the investigation into the Chinese terrorist group and invited questions.
There was an immediate chorus of questions from the journalists and Sentoro selected one of the Japanese reporters to ask the first question of Koshi. The question related to the attempt on Koshi’s life and how he had managed to survive the terrorist attack. Koshi replied in Japanese attributing his escape to the help received from the Australian police and officials. An interpreter translated his reply for the majority of the audience. Although quite fluent in English, Koshi preferred to use an interpreter to give himself time to think about his answers.
The questions were soon directed at Sentoro asking about actions taken to identify the terrorist group and whether the Chinese Government had offered assistance. Sentoro responded that investigations were proceeding into the background of the terrorist group and that representations had been made to the highest level of the Chinese Government which had pledged assistance in tracking down the terrorists. In answer to a further question, Sentoro explained that the Islamic State flag had been planted at the scene of the attack as a ruse to distract the police investigators and all the Islamic suspects had been released from jail.
After another ten minutes, Sentoro cut short the conference on the pretext that Prime Minister Koshi had to leave for the airport. They were escorted by their security teams back to their hotel suites. Within the hour, Sentoro had joined Koshi in his car on the way to the airport. She farewelled him on the steps of the aircraft.
She waited until the aircraft took off and heaved a huge sigh of relief as the plane disappeared on its way to Tokyo. She was looking forward to having a day’s break to catch up with her husband and children. But she knew she wouldn’t have long to rest. In a week’s time the Liberal Party was to elect a new leader to replace Neville Murray and she had a lot of campaigning to do if she were to win the ballot.