Road barriers outside Oz embassy to stay<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Attention motorists: Traffic jams caused by the road barriers
\nin front of the Australian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna Said, Kuningan,
\nSouth Jakarta will probably continue for the next few months.<\/p>\n
Australian Embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth O'Neill said on
\nWednesday repair work to the embassy was unfinished making it
\nimpossible for the road barriers blocking the slow lane in front
\nof the embassy to be removed right now.<\/p>\n
\"The road closure is only temporary, and we have been in
\ndiscussion with the Jakarta administration and other authorities
\nabout the timing of its reopening. We expect that this will
\nhappen in the next few months,\" O'Neill told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Motorists have complained about traffic jams in front of the
\nembassy, particularly during rush hours, due to the barriers
\nestablished following the bombing last September, in which 11
\npeople were killed and over 180 injured.<\/p>\n
Ira, 27, an employee of a private bank on Jl. Rasuna Said said
\nshe gets stuck in traffic outside the embassy every afternoon.<\/p>\n
\"I travel by bus every day. It creeps past the embassy in the
\nslow lane for at least half an hour. What could they be building
\nthat takes almost a year to finish?\" she told the Post.<\/p>\n
O'Neill asked for the patience of Jakartans as the bombing had
\ncaused serious damage to the embassy, which required substantial
\nrepair work.<\/p>\n
She said the heightened security of the building would provide
\nbetter protection for both Australian staff and the large number
\nof Indonesians employed at the embassy.<\/p>\n
Beside the Australian Embassy building, complaints have also
\nbeen made over the concrete barriers in front of the U.S. Embassy
\nbuilding on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan.<\/p>\n
Press reports on Wednesday said that Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso
\nhad asked the two embassies to remove the barriers in front of
\ntheir buildings.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said while he understood their concerns over security
\nhe would send letters to the embassies if they did not remove the
\nbarriers once the construction was finished.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/road-barriers-outside-oz-embassy-to-stay-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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