Serbian TV broadcast Pratt's 'confession'  ALSO Report: 400,000 homeless Kosovars hiding in province NATO: Aerial photo may show mass graves in Kosovo Congress faces debate over ground troops in Kosovo

April 12, 1999
Web posted at: 4:39 a.m. EDT (0839 GMT)

CANBERRA, Australia (CNN) -- Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Monday dismissed as "preposterous" the suggestion that Australian CARE worker Steve Pratt had spied on Yugoslavia.

On Sunday, Serb television RTS aired what the station called a "confession" from Pratt, who had not been seen since he disappeared in Bosnia 11 days ago.

"When I came to Yugoslavia I performed some intelligence tasks in this country using the cover of CARE Australia," said Pratt, 49, in the televised report.

Downer and CARE officials demanded the immediate release of both Pratt and his colleague Peter Wallace, who was with Pratt after the two left Belgrade on April 1.

"The accusations against Mr. Pratt are simply preposterous," Downer told reporters following a meeting with Yugoslav Ambassador Dragan Dragojlovic.

"We have made extensive inquiries both here and overseas and I can assure you that we have no evidence whatsoever that Mr. Pratt engaged in intelligence activities as are apparently alleged by the Yugoslav government," Downer said.

Pratt showed no sign of physical mistreatment but CARE Australia said it believed his statement was made under duress.

CARE Australia's emergency coordinator, Brian Doolan, said the spy claim was "absolute lunacy" and that threats may have been made against local staff or against Wallace to extract the confession.

"Steve is not a spy. He has gone on television in Serbia and made a statement, I think, clearly under some form of duress or some form of threat," Doolan told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Australia discovered on Friday that the two were being detained. There was no mention of Wallace in the RTS report.

"This clearly explains why it has been difficult to get any information or confirmation of why and where Steve and Peter have been held," said CARE Chief Executive Charles Tapp.

According to CARE, the organization last had communication with the two on April 1 as they prepared to leave Belgrade and head north to Hungary.

Tapp denied allegations of wrongdoing by CARE in a written statement.

"CARE Australia is a purely humanitarian organization. CARE is a strictly non-political, non-religious provider of aid. It has always been and remains so," Tapp said.

Pratt was in charge of logistics for Australia's military before retiring and eventually joining CARE.

During the broadcast on Serb TV, Pratt appeared calm and composed as he detailed his so-called spying activities, with maps showing where the alleged covert operations took place.

"My concentration was on Kosovo and some effects of the bombing," Pratt said. ÒI misused my Yugoslav staff in the acquisition of information."

"I realize that damage was done to this country by these actions, for which I am greatly sorry. I always did and I still do condemn the bombing of this country," he said.

Pratt, from Sydney, and Wallace were responsible for CARE's Kosovo program out of Belgrade until its suspension on March 22.

Wallace, 30, is from Queensland, Australia.

Downer said that under international law, Australia had a right of consular access to the men.

"I have demanded the immediate release of both of the CARE Australia workers by the Yugoslav authorities and for them to be able to leave the country at once," Downer said.

He added he did not think the two men's capture was a result of Australia's support of the NATO bombing, but it was completely inexcusable for authorities to detain them.

Downer said Serbian authorities had been uncooperative about the men, but Australia's ambassador to Yugoslavia Chris Lamb was due to meet Yugoslav Foreign Ministry officials later on Monday.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.