Expatriates monitoring situation, confident of safety

Expatriates monitoring situation, confident of safety

A'an Suryana and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite a wave of demonstrations protesting the United States
attack on Iraq here, expatriates living in Indonesia say they are
not worried about being targeted by violence.

However, they admit to keeping an eye on developments so that
they can prepare for all eventualities.

Christopher P.A. Bennett, a British governance consultant,
said that, despite the rising tension here in the wake of the
Iraq war, he still felt safe.

He said his feeling of security was due to the many years he
had lived in Indonesia.

No foreigners had ever been killed during demonstrations in
this country, even those organized by notorious religious groups,
he said.

"I have been living here for over 20 years, but, individually,
I've never received any threats that could put my live in peril,"
Bennet told The Jakarta Post in fluent Bahasa Indonesia.

A similar view was expressed by Greg Clough, an Australian
expatriate, who works for the Bogor-based Center for
International Forestry Research (Cifor).

Demonstrations are his main cause for concern, Clough said,
but he was confident the protests were still manageable. He also
said they were quite understandable.

"I am very sympathetic to those Indonesians protesting the
war. I agree with them, and I am very disappointed with my
country, which has decided to involve itself in this war," he
asserted.

Australia and the United Kingdom are the U.S.'s main allies in
the war, which began on Thursday.

Many expatriates share Clough's view, but for some, the
demonstrations, which could easily turn violent, are a cause for
worry.

They are concerned that the rallies could get out of control,
and finally could result in casualties among innocent foreigners.

"It is absurd and almost surreal that these basically good
civilian expatriates could become the victims of violence by
Indonesians because of what is happening 10,000 miles away, and
actually affects Indonesia in no way that I can possibly fathom,"
an American expatriate told the Post.

In order to prevent people falling victim to violence, he
suggested that the country's leaders, especially religious
leaders, educate the people so as to avoid demonstrations getting
out of hand and endangering the lives of innocent civilians.

Clough said the fear of violent protests had prompted
expatriates to prepare themselves for all possibilities.

"Our employer receives security advise regularly, and I read
it. I then make my own judgment about the situation here based on
the analysis," he said.

The U.S., British and Australian Embassies here have issued
advisories telling their citizens to take steps to ensure their
safety as a result of heightened risks associated with the
outbreak of hostilities, including the continued threat of
terrorist attacks in the wake of the Iraq war.

British Ambassador to Indonesia Richard Gozney said on Friday
he had informed British nationals here to take precautionary
measures, but denied he had ever suggested that they leave the
country.

"I sent a message to all our nationals to be careful while
they are staying here," Gozney said at the State Palace after a
brief meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"But I believe that the Indonesian Police will do their best
to protect us and so far there is no evacuation plan for our
nationals in Indonesia."

The ambassador also told the President that he had informed
Prime Minister Tony Blair about Jakarta's stance against the war
in Iraq.

"I conveyed the statement issued (by the President) yesterday
to London so as to ensure that London understands the strong
feelings here regarding the attack," Gozney said in fluent Bahasa
Indonesia.