By Tarko Sudiarno

By Tarko Sudiarno

The Jakarta Post
Surakarta

Hotels, travel bureaus and royal family of Surakarta lamented
on Tuesday the hunt on American people at star-rated hotels
conducted by certain group on Sunday.

Aris Supriyadi, sales manager of Sahid Raya Hotel, Surakarta,
one of two hotels swept by the anti-U.S. group said that several
foreign tourists had canceled their plan to visit here due to the
"operation".

Not only foreign guests who were frightened by the hunt, but
also domestic tourists. "Many prospective guests from Jakarta and
Semarang called us, asking if the hotel security could protect
them should they go on with their plan."

"Just this afternoon the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya
called us to get detailed information about the anti-U.S. hunt.
The caller was curious how we could evacuate and protect American
guests should such an incident happen again in the future."

"The hotel policy is clear that we cannot hand over the guest
lists to anyone. We respect the guests' privacy and security."

He said his hotel got an average of between 30 and 40 foreign
guests monthly.

Front Office Manager of Novotel Solo John Johan Tisera shared
similar complaint, saying that the security officers should have
acted actively in preventing any group from acting arbitrarily
such as hunting certain guests at hotels.

"We hotel security will not be able to fully deal with such a
sweeping. We also have policy not to give the guest list to
unauthorized people. But things are different if we have to face
a large number of people," Tisera said, referring to the group
which came to search his hotel on Sunday.

"The image of Surakarta and Indonesia was ruined by such a
sweeping. Sixteen prospective guests canceled their reservation
on Monday," said Panca, a manager at Mandira Tours, a travel
agent in Surakarta.

"Didn't the people (who conducted the U.S. guest hunt) think
that their actions could hurt many people, hotel management,
becak drivers, and vendors in traditional markets and
transportation companies?"

"I made many copies of the cancellation of our guests'
reservation and distributed them every where just to show them
that their actions did hurt many people."

Deep regret and concern was also voiced by the Surakarta
Palace Prince Gusti Pangeran Haryo (GPH) Dipokusumo.

"Protest against America should not have been expressed in
such an emotional action. Sweeping is a military terminology. A
word of terror and violence. Couldn't we express our disagreement
in other polite and civilized ways as our ancestors had taught
us?"

"Isn't it possible for us to make official protest and hand
over it to the House of Representatives and the government? This
will look more polite, sympathetic, not anarchic and not
emotional. Sunday's action hurt all of us. Fortunately,
Indonesians in America did not get the same treatment."

The prince, who is now chairing Bengawan Solo Fair 2001, said
he was ashamed with the incident. "Majority Solo people are not
like them," he said referring to members of the group hunting the
Americans.

"Those who joined the group and took part in series of
violence in the past were people living in outskirts who lack
communication with us. It would be better for us to communicate
more with those people. They live not in either urban or rural
areas, thus they are between two different cultures. They need
our touch," prince Dipokusumo said. (53/sur)