U.S. embassy in Jakarta gets attack threat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The public services section of the U.S. embassy
\nhere will be closed for the rest of the week after \"credible
\ninformation\" was received of a possible attack, the U.S. State
\nDepartment said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The embassy was already closed on Wednesday in observance of
\nthe Ascension Day of the Prophet Muhammad, which is a national
\nholiday. It has been decided that the public services section
\nwill not reopen on Thursday and Friday, State Department
\nspokesman Philip Reeker was quoted by AFP as saying in
\nWashington.<\/p>\n
\"In response to credible information of a threat to the
\nembassy compound, the ambassador and his team decided to close
\nthe public services for the remainder of the week,\" Reeker was
\nquoted as saying.<\/p>\n
He declined to give details as to the nature of the
\ninformation received.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, AP quoted the embassy spokesman Karl Fritz as
\nsaying that the consular and visa services would be discontinued
\nuntil Monday because the embassy had received \"a credible
\nthreat\". He refused to elaborate.<\/p>\n
However, the embassy will remain open and its consulate will
\nserve U.S citizens as usual, he added.<\/p>\n
The statement comes amid almost daily anti-Israel protests
\nsince the upsurge in violence in the Middle East. The U.S embassy
\nis often targeted due to the country's close link with the Jewish
\nstate.<\/p>\n
House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung said on
\nWednesday that the decision to close the public services section
\nof the embassy was an \"overreaction\".<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organized
\nby the Family of Muslim Students Association Alumni (KAHMI) here,
\nAkbar said the protests were a consequence of the country's
\ndemocratization process.<\/p>\n
He said he was informed that the Indonesian government had
\nguaranteed that the demonstrations did not intend to harm or to
\nbreak the bilateral relationship between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, hundreds of Muslim students staged
\nprotests in front of the embassy in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Waving banners reading \"Kill Jews\" and \"Israel you are a
\ndevil\", nearly 300 protesters chanted and denounced alleged U.S
\nsupport for the Jewish state.<\/p>\n
The students had earlier gathered at the Al-Azhar Mosque in
\nSouth Jakarta before marching to the U.S. embassy, stopping
\nbriefly in front of the UN mission on the way. They also carried
\nposters criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and U.S.
\nPresident Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 12, the day of the attack on the USS Cole naval
\ndestroyer moored off Aden, the United States issued a worldwide
\ntravel alert, warning U.S. citizens to step up their security
\nahead of possible anti-American demonstrations and terrorist
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
This followed a similar warning issued on Oct. 4 as clashes
\nintensified between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in
\nthe West Bank and Gaza. (02\/byg)<\/p>",
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