Britain embassy warns 'nowhere safe' in Indonesia

Britain embassy warns 'nowhere safe' in Indonesia

Agencies, Jakarta

Britain warned on Friday that nowhere was safe in Indonesia, and again urged British nationals to leave the country amid increasing warnings of more terrorist attacks following the Bali bombing, which killed at least 190 people, mostly foreigners.

Britain has issued several warnings about Indonesia since the Oct. 12 bomb attack, and in the latest warning said the threat to British nationals and British interests "remains high."

"In essence, nowhere in Indonesia can be judged fully safe at present. Our advice is that if your presence is not essential, then you should consider leaving," the statement by the British ambassador to Jakarta, Richard Gozney, said.

Britain announced last week it was pulling out non-essential diplomats from Indonesia and urged its citizens to leave. It also said that Britons should not travel to the country.

The Foreign Office earlier this week warned that the arrest of terror suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir could lead to a wave of reprisals against foreigners, and on Friday announced a ban on the Southeast Asian terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

Ba'asyir is accused by Singapore and other countries of being the spiritual leader of JI.

There are growing suspicions that JI may have been involved in the Bali bombing although Ba'asyir has not been named as a suspect.

He is wanted for questioning over a spate of bombings two years ago, which killed 18 people, and an alleged plot to kill Megawati Soekarnoputri before she became President.

The 191 confirmed dead in the explosions in a crowded tourist nightspot area of Bali included 11 British nationals, with another 18 unaccounted for.

Despite the strong statement from Gozney, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that the European Union countries and Japan had denied reports that they had issued travel bans to their nationals prohibiting them from visiting Indonesia following the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002.

According to Marty, they simply advised their citizens to avoid visiting Indonesia for the time being,

"There is no travel ban from the European Union. It would be unusual for the EU to issue a joint travel warning," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Marty made the statement after holding a meeting with the ambassadors of EU countries in Jakarta on Thursday. It was also attended by Ibrahim Ambong, who chairs the House of Representatives' foreign relations committee.

The meeting, initiated by the Danish ambassador in his capacity as the representative of the EU presidency in Indonesia, was aimed at discussing efforts to deal with terrorism in the country.

Marty said that during the meeting, the EU ambassadors explained that their citizens were recommended not to travel to Indonesia for the time being.

Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yutaka Imura also said that his country did not prohibit its nationals from visiting Jakarta and other cities around the country despite the Bali carnage.

"We have only advised our citizens to postpone traveling to Indonesia if they don't have urgent business there," he said after signing several diplomatic notes at Marty's office.

The notes dealt with Japanese government pledges to provide Indonesia with material and technical assistance.

Imura said his government had decided to assist Indonesia in investigating the Bali bomb attack by giving the latter a grant of 2.5 billion yen (about US$20 million).

The grant was meant to help the Indonesian government overcome the impact of the Bali bombings as quickly as possible, he added.

In addition, the Japanese government has also sent 21 forensic experts, eight policemen, three antiterrorism personnel and one DNA expert to help deal with the aftermath of the bombings.

Marty also denied that the Australian government was planning to open a permanent intelligence office in Jakarta as part of Canberra's efforts to help Indonesia root out terrorism.

"There's no such a plan, and Australia does not have such intelligence offices in other countries," he said.

However, Australian Attorney General Daryl Williams told parliament in Canberra recently that an Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) liaison office would be opened in Jakarta with immediate effect.