U.S. Embassy, Consulate to open on Monday<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and the U.S. Consulate in
\nSurabaya, East Java, will resume normal operations on Monday
\nafter they closed for four days in response to alleged terrorist
\nthreats.<\/p>\n
However. U.S. authorities warned in a statement on Sunday that
\nthe threat remained and urged the public to refrain from visiting
\nthe embassy unless "absolutely necessary".<\/p>\n
"The threat information remains serious and compelling and the
\npublic is urged to refrain from coming to the embassy or the
\nconsulate unless it is absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n
"Americans are reminded once again to take prudent personal
\nsecurity precautions, particularly during this period of
\nheightened security concerns," it said.<\/p>\n
The embassy noted that the reopening of its missions here was
\nmade possible with the cooperation of Indonesian security
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the police apparently increased its security
\npresence at the U.S. Embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan, Central
\nJakarta, by deploying three truckloads of armed police.<\/p>\n
An official at the scene said the increased security was
\ndemanded by the U.S. embassy, but he did not know how long the
\nincreased security arrangement would be maintained.<\/p>\n
The U.S. missions in Jakarta and Surabaya had been closed
\nsince Tuesday, following an alleged al-Qaeda-linked terrorist
\nthreat on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United
\nStates, an official said.<\/p>\n
The sudden closure irked many senior government and security
\nofficials. They expressed their disappointment over the closure,
\nsaying that the U.S. had failed to inform the government and
\nsecurity forces beforehand.<\/p>\n
U.S. ambassador Ralph L. Boyce then held a string of meetings
\nwith Indonesian officials, including Vice President Hamzah Haz,
\nwho later ordered the police to increase security around the U.S.
\nmission premises.<\/p>\n
The closure of U.S. missions in Indonesia has once again
\nraised concerns over the possible presence of al-Qaeda terrorist
\nnetworks in Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim
\npopulation in the world. But so far there has been no hard proof
\nabout their presence in the country.<\/p>\n
In addition to its missions in Jakarta and Surabaya, the U.S.
\ngovernment also closed about two dozen of its missions around the
\nworld, mostly in Asia. But the missions in Indonesia were the
\nfirst to close, but not the first to reopen.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Embassy in Malaysia was also scheduled to reopen
\nMonday after closing for three working days amid security
\nconcerns.<\/p>\n
"We plan on reopening Monday morning," embassy spokesman Frank
\nWhitaker told the Associated Press on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The closure in Malaysia came the same day the U.S. mission in
\nJakarta was closed over fears of possible terror attacks.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, a mostly Muslim country of 23 million people, has
\nbecome a focus of the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks and
\nhas detained scores of Islamic militant suspects accused of
\nbelonging to extremist networks in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Among those detained is a former Malaysian army captain who
\nofficials say let senior al-Qaida operatives, including two of
\nthe Sept. 11 hijackers, use his apartment for a meeting in
\nJanuary 2000.<\/p>\n
The United States considers Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
\nMohamad a key ally in the fight against terrorism, and Malaysians
\nhave generally decried the Sept. 11 attacks.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-embassy-consulate-to-open-on-monday-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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