Foreign students at UGM want to leave Indonesia

Foreign students at UGM want to leave Indonesia

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Seventy-six foreign students studying at
Gadjah Mada University want to leave the country before tomorrow.

The university's assistant rector, Joedoro Soedarsono, told
The Jakarta Post that the 76 students were concerned for their
safety and feared a further escalation in violence tomorrow. He
did not say whether they had already departed.

He admitted that the university cannot guarantee their safety,
and said that it would be difficult for the university to ask
them to stay after their respective governments had recommended
they leave.

"We can't make any guarantees for their safety. Can the
security apparatus give such a guarantee? I don't know," he
remarked.

The 76 students who have asked to leave are 47 Australians, 13
Japanese, 11 Americans, two Germans, and one each from Malaysia,
Korea, and the Philippines.

Gadjah Mada University has a 291-strong contingent of foreign
students. The largest number of students, 57, are Australian.
Thirty seven are Japanese.

According to Joedoro, initially students departed through
Bali, but now many were traveling to Singapore and other nearby
locations, just to get out of the country.

Major airports, especially in Jakarta, have seen a mass exodus
of foreigners following the widespread looting which hit the
capital on Thursday.

Despite the mass departures, United Nations agencies in
Jakarta said yesterday they were maintaining a full complement of
staff in Jakarta. However as a precautionary move, family members
of international staff have been relocated to Singapore.

Australia

In a related development, three chartered flights arranged by
the Australian government touched down in Sydney yesterday
afternoon carrying 204 passengers fleeing Jakarta.

A press statement from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta
quoted Foreign Minister Alexander Downer as saying that over a
period of two days 758 people had flown from Jakarta to Sydney
using the specially chartered flights.

"Demand slowed for seats on the third aircraft and the current
assessment is that normal scheduled flights can accommodate the
numbers of Australians wishing to leave the country. On this
basis there will be no further charter flights at this stage," he
said.

Meanwhile the Philippines have readied air force C-130 planes
to fly Filipinos out of Indonesia in the case of public airports
closing due to an escalation of violence.

Associated Press quoted Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon as
saying in Manila yesterday that the Philippines had asked
permission from Indonesian authorities to land Philippine
military planes at an Indonesian air base in a worst-case
scenario in which commercial airlines are prevented from flying.

Siazon said the flights would be available only "if the
situation gets bad", adding that present conditions did not
warrant such a move.

"There is no recommendation for mandatory departure yet",
Siazon said from the Philippine Embassy.

Siazon said the embassy had also opened its doors to Filipinos
afraid to stay in their homes or offices, but so far no one has
taken up the offer.

Japan dispatched the first of two air force transport planes
to Singapore yesterday, in preparation for a possible evacuation
operation in Indonesia.

The first C-130 Hercules transport plane left Komaki air base
in central Japan bound for Paya Lebar air base in Singapore, a
defense ministry spokesman said, as quoted by Reuters.

Top government spokesman Kanezo Muraoka said that four other
transport planes would be sent later, but he did not say when.

The decision was made after Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto,
who flew back from the Birmingham Group of Eight (G8) nations'
summit, finished discussing the Indonesian crisis with several
cabinet ministers.

It is only the second time Japan has dispatched military
planes overseas on a mission other than a training flight since
the end of World War Two.

In July 1997, Japan sent three C-130 transport planes to
Thailand to airlift nationals trapped in strife-torn Cambodia.
The aircraft were later withdrawn because most Japanese used
other means to flee Cambodia.

Each C-130 can hold about 80 people. If required, the planes
would be used to shuttle Japanese to other nearby nations for
commercial flights home.

Muraoka said that by tomorrow, 5,000 Japanese will have
returned home from Indonesia on commercial flights. There are an
estimated 20,000 Japanese citizens in Indonesia, including
several thousand tourists.

He added that Japan is considering sending two coast guard
patrol boats, possibly to Singapore, to help with any evacuation.

The boats, which can carry up to 500 people, could be used to
take people from Indonesia to neighboring countries. One of the
boats, which can carry two helicopters, is now in Okinawa and the
other is steaming towards a rendezvous.
"Japan is doing whatever it can to protect the lives of its
citizens in Indonesia," Muraoka said.

Taiwan might soon send military transport planes and naval
vessels to Indonesia to evacuate its citizens if violence worsens
this week, officials said.

Foreign minister Jason Hu told the legislature that the final
details of a possible evacuation plan are being decided. He urged
Taiwanese business people to leave Indonesia with their families
before tomorrow.

About 4,000 Taiwanese have returned home on scheduled or
chartered flights following last week's riots.

Approximately 30,000 Taiwanese business people and their
families live in Indonesia.

A chartered flight arranged by the Italian foreign ministry to
assist Italians flee Indonesia left Jakarta on Sunday, RAI state
television reported in Rome.

Dozens of Italians arrived at Jakarta airport hours ahead of
the 105-seat flight to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

An estimated 140 Italians still remain in Jakarta, and 200
others, mainly missionaries, in other parts of the country. In
addition to long term residents, about 350 Italian tourists are
currently in Bali. (44/mds)