RI withdraws embassy staff from Iraq<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia has temporarily closed its embassy in Baghdad with the
\nevacuation of the last group of 30 Indonesians as a war on Iraq
\nwill likely begin in a few days.<\/p>\n
The 30 people, including the Indonesian ambassador to Iraq and
\n25 students, left the Iraqi capital on Monday for Damascus,
\nSyria. Two students insisted on staying in Baghdad.<\/p>\n
\"As we speak, the last batch of Indonesians are leaving Iraq.
\nWe must pull out every citizen should the war begin in a few
\ndays,\" Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty
\nNatalegawa told The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
The official said that Ambassador Dachlan Abdul Hamid would
\nstay in Damascus waiting for further development of the situation
\nin the Middle East, while the students would be able to continue
\ntheir studies in Syria.<\/p>\n
The last two Indonesian students were part of the 17 students
\nwho signed a disclaimer that they would be fully responsible for
\ntheir personal safety in Iraq, as they had rejected being
\nevacuated by the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
U.S. President George W. Bush has given another 24 hours until
\nMonday for a diplomatic solution to end the crisis before it and
\nits allies start a war on Iraq.<\/p>\n
The statement put the rest of the world under alert, with most
\ncountries also closing their embassies temporarily and evacuating
\ntheir last remaining citizens out of Iraq.<\/p>\n
Most Indonesian nationals had left the country starting last
\nmonth along with embassy staff, who were evacuated to Damascus or
\nto Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Chief of Indonesia's national team to anticipate war in Iraq
\nAdm. (ret) Widodo A.S. has forged cooperation with eight
\ncountries bordering Iraq to help handle its interests, including
\nthe evacuation, if necessary.<\/p>\n
Besides a global antiwar protest, many countries and
\ninternational figures have warned the U.S. against attacking
\nIraq, saying such a unilateral action was against the UN
\nConvention and would cause a world disorder.<\/p>\n
So far, some 150,000 Indonesians are still being employed as
\ndomestic helpers by families in the region and the respective
\ncountries have assured of the workers' safety should a war erupt.<\/p>\n
Marty said that the government had yet to decide whether they
\nwould repatriate the diplomats and other Indonesian citizens
\nshould the situation deteriorate in the Gulf.<\/p>\n
He further said that the ambassador reported that Indonesian
\nactivist Dita Indah Sari, who was taking part in the human shield
\nactivity to protest U.S. war plans, had also left Iraq.<\/p>\n
\"As far as the ambassador's report reveals, aside from the two
\nstudents, no Indonesians are now in Iraq as of Monday,\" said
\nMarty.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-withdraws-embassy-staff-from-iraq-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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