CANBERRA, June 3 (Xinhuanet) -- A package containing suspicious white power addressed to Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer sparked a major security operation at Parliament House here on Friday.

    Subsequent tests showed the substance was harmless, police said.

    This incident followed a similar one that shut down the Indonesian embassy here on Wednesday.

    Workers at the mail room at the Parliament House intercepted the package on Friday morning and raised the alarm. A female worker was temporarily isolated and decontaminated as a precautionary measure.

    Downer condemned the incident, saying "as I have said this week in relation to the incident involving the Indonesian embassy, thistype of intimidation is deplorable."

    Telling reporters in Adelaide, South Australia, the foreign minister said "the matter could be a serious criminal offense and it is best handled by the police."

    Police are trying to find out if there is any link between the two incidents.

    It is generally believed that the embassy incident is related to the public anger over Indonesia's ruling on May 27 over an Australian's case.

    Schapelle Corby, a 27-year-old Australian beauty therapist, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for drug smuggling by an Indonesian court. The ruling has since incurred protest by Australians who believe Corby is innocent. Enditem