Downer to visit Jakarta

Downer to visit Jakarta

CANBERRA (Reuters): Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer visits Jakarta this weekend, with diplomats monitoring any potential threat for Australians in Indonesia in the wake of its economic crisis, a government spokeswoman said yesterday.

"Certainly on the streets (in Indonesia) there is tension and there is an expectation that as the economic situation gets worse that problem may be exacerbated," Foreign Affairs and Trade department spokeswoman Sally Mansfield told Reuters.

"But it is not at the stage yet where we think Australians ought to be warned against traveling to Indonesia or that they should be told to leave if they are resident there," she said.

Downer is to visit Jakarta from today to Tuesday.

The Australian Financial Review newspaper said yesterday the Australian government was making contingency plans to evacuate Australian citizens from Indonesia, fearing the breakdown of its economy could lead to serious unrest.

Mansfield said all Australian embassies had security plans for evacuation - including the use of charter flights or Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft - if ever the need arose.