Embassy defends decision not to evacuate citizens
By Santi WE Soekanto
PHNOM PENH (JP): Indonesia's decision not to evacuate some 400 off its citizens when factional fighting broke out early last month was the most appropriate politically, according to the Defense Attache at the Indonesian Embassy here.
"There's only one reason that an evacuation should be called for -- for safety. The safety of Indonesians here was never threatened," Yuktayana Tjitrawasita said.
Had Jakarta called for an unwarranted evacuation, he said, the psychological and political impact would have been very damaging to Indonesia's relations with Cambodia.
Most Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries evacuated their citizens shortly after fighting broke out between forces loyal to First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh and those to Second Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Authorities in Jakarta announced then that it had made preparations, if an evacuation was necessary. Yuktayana said the decision not to evacuate was made in full consultation with the Indonesian Embassy here.
"There's only one higher consideration for evacuation, and that is the political stance of the government in Jakarta, but Jakarta consulted us," he said.
Indonesian Embassy spokesman Rusmaldi Dawanie said about 50 Indonesians, mostly women and children, left Cambodia in the tension that followed the fighting on July 6. "And they used commercial flights, not the Hercules aircraft that were stationed in readiness in Jakarta," he said.
Sending home Indonesians, many of them well-paid workers of some Western companies, would have also involved seeing them home safely and answering questions about lost jobs and income, Yuktayana said.
Reports of sporadic fighting still poured in yesterday, mostly taking place in areas bordering Cambodia and Thailand, such as Banteay Meanchey.
In Phnom Penh, daily life goes on as usual with various social and economic activities taking place. The Cambodian National Assembly also held a meeting yesterday, chaired by acting chairman Loy Sim Chheang of FUNCINPEC.
Prince Ranariddh left the country on July 4, reportedly on the advice of one of the generals of his royalist party FUNCINPEC, Nhiek Bun Chhay.
The next afternoon, the minister of defense from Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) gathered foreign diplomats and told them of a "mopping-up operation" planned for July 6, when the military would confiscate weapons from "unauthorized people". Expatriates were advised to stay at home.
Fighting broke out during the operation, lasting a whole day, with many FUNCINPEC legislators and other Ranariddh loyalists fleeing the capital and the country.
According to Yuktayana, Hun Sen broadcast a televised message that night saying the operation was completed and that he guaranteed expatriates' safety.
During the next several days, however, some ASEAN countries evacuated their citizens, even though Pochentong Airport was scheduled to be reopened for domestic and international flights on July 8 and 9 respectively.