U.S. Ambassador satisfied with RI security<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In an apparent damage containment exercise, U.S. Ambassador Ralph
\nL. Boyce met on Wednesday senior government officials irked by
\nhis decision to close American diplomatic missions in Indonesia
\nover a terrorist threat Jakarta said it had not been consulted
\nabout.<\/p>\n
Boyce met first with acting Indonesian foreign minister Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono to explain to him the sudden closure of the
\nU.S. embassy and its consulate in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
\"I think there was a perception based on a lack of
\ncommunication, but as we discussed today, the two sides are in
\ncomplete harmony,\" Boyce told reporters after the two-hour
\nmeeting in Susilo's office.<\/p>\n
\"We are very pleased with the cooperation we have had, and the
\nreason for our closing is quite clear to the government as well,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Susilo earlier expressed his shock to hear about what he
\ndescribed as the U.S.'s unilateral decision to close the embassy,
\nsaying the government should have been told about the threat
\nprior to the closure.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Boyce said the embassy had received \"credible
\ninformation about a specific terrorist threat\" against the
\nembassy and the Surabaya consulate.<\/p>\n
The U.S. embassy has since been closed to the public; the
\nthird time in the past two years it has been closed for security
\nreasons.<\/p>\n
Boyce vaguely linked the threat to the al-Qaeda group, widely
\nbelieved to have been behind the terrorist strikes on New York
\nand the Pentagon, which killed some 3000 Americans and other
\nnationals a year ago.<\/p>\n
His statement came a day before America and other parts of the
\nworld commemorated the first anniversary of the terrorist strikes
\nagainst the U.S. on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
The U.S. State Department said two dozen embassies and
\nconsulates were shut down either due to security threats or to
\nallow staff to attend ceremonies in memory of those who died in
\nthe attacks, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
Its embassy in Indonesia, however, was the first one to be
\nclosed because of security threats. The British mission in
\nJakarta followed suit, citing precautionary measures.<\/p>\n
\"Because of the date (Sept. 11) we are all aware when we get
\ninformation of a threat potentially against our facilities,\" said
\nBoyce, but added: \"We have been satisfied all along with the
\nefforts of the Indonesian security authorities to take care of
\nus.\"<\/p>\n
No details of the threats have been made available although
\nIndonesian National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said U.S.
\nofficials told him the threat did not come from inside Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"The (embassy's) closure wasn't because of threats from within
\nIndonesia. We would have been surprised if it was,\" Da'i said.<\/p>\n
Boyce later met Vice President Hamzah Haz during the opening
\nceremony for a seminar on Islam.<\/p>\n
The Vice President immediately asked for an explanation from
\nBoyce, noting that the sudden closure of the embassy made
\nIndonesia look bad.<\/p>\n
\"If they told us about the security problems, of course we
\nwould have done something about it. We do hope next time they'll
\ncommunicate with us about issues like these,\" Hamzah said.<\/p>\n
But international relations expert at the Centre for Strategic
\nand International Studies (CSIS), Philip J. Vermonte, said it was
\nuncharacteristic for Boyce to overreact over a simple threat.<\/p>\n
\"Boyce is a very careful person, he is very calm but once he
\nhas decided something ... then there must be something to it,\"
\nsaid Philip, who specializes in transnational crimes.<\/p>\n
Police officers on Wednesday cordoned off the U.S. embassy
\ncompound, in what would have been an otherwise quite day, had it
\nnot been for the election of the city's governor.<\/p>\n
Near the embassy, thousands of demonstrators clashed with the
\npolice in protest over councillors' moves to reelect Governor
\nSutiyoso.<\/p>\n
East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutanto gave assurance that
\nthere were no immediate threats against U.S. assets or Americans
\nin Surabaya.<\/p>\n
\"There are no security threats in Surabaya. However, we have
\nstepped up security measures for U.S. assets here,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Anti-American sentiment in Indonesia has grown since the U.S.
\nretaliated for the Sept. 11 strikes by attacking Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
And Indonesia is no stranger to terror, having seen a string
\nof bomb explosions in the capital, and as far away as Poso in
\nCentral Sulawesi and Ambon in Maluku, where blasts have been
\nundermining a fragile peace accord intended to end long-running
\ncommunal clashes.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-ambassador-satisfied-with-ri-security-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}