Spanish FM arrives in Indonesia for talks on military aid<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos arrived in
\nJakarta on Wednesday and will head on Thursday to tsunami-
\ndevastated Aceh province to meet the President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono for talks on military aid.<\/p>\n
Susilo left Jakarta on Wednesday for Aceh and North Sumatra
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
The Spanish minister met Vice President Jusuf Kalla on
\nWednesday and discussed the planned dispatch of a Spanish navy
\nvessel and 650 troops to Indonesia, the Spanish Embassy in
\nJakarta informed The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Kalla gave a deadline of three months for the
\nwithdrawal of foreign troops, saying the sooner they left, the
\nbetter.<\/p>\n
Forces from Australia, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia,
\nGermany, China, India, Spain, Pakistan, Japan and Switzerland
\nhave scrambled to help with relief efforts in Aceh, on the
\nnorthern tip of Sumatra island, following the Dec. 26 disaster.<\/p>\n
More than 106,500 people were killed in Indonesia by the
\nmagnitude 9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, with almost all those
\ndeaths occurring in Aceh. Around the Indian Ocean the death toll
\nfrom the disaster stands at more than 158,000.<\/p>\n
\"Three months are enough. The sooner (they leave) the better,\"
\nsaid Kalla, quoted by the official Antara news agency, when asked
\nhow long should foreign troops should stay in Aceh.<\/p>\n
When asked about long-term relief efforts, he said: \"We don't
\nneed foreign troops.\"<\/p>\n
The issue of foreign troops is sensitive in Indonesia, the
\nworld's most populous Muslim nation. Their presence in Aceh,
\nscene of a long-running separatist rebellion, has also raised
\nsome nationalist hackles.<\/p>\n
Many Indonesians, however, have praised the helping hand.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/spanish-fm-arrives-in-indonesia-for-talks-on-military-aid-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }