ACILS clarifies

The American Center for International Labor Solidarity Jakarta office (ACILS) issues the following public statement relating to the recent newspaper reports about it.

ACILS has worked in Indonesia for more than 25 years and has at all times followed all the laws and regulations of Indonesia. It is a legally functioning organization in Indonesia and has always been so. For these 25 years, its mission has been to offer education, training and technical assistance to the workers of Indonesia to improve their welfare.

Most of the reporting about ACILS and the case of Roger Smith is filled with inaccuracies and errors. Roger Smith has a legal work permit and residence visa and has never been arrested by the police, only questioned. No other members of our staff have been arrested or considered by the police to have broken any laws.

We regret that so many errors and untruths have found their way into print and request the Indonesian news media to print this statement as a correction.

TIMOTHY RYAN

Representative Head

ACILS, Jakarta