Government dismisses allegations of American espionage

JAKARTA (JP): The government launched efforts at further damage control on Friday to stop the possibility of corroding ties with the United States when it dismissed allegations that an American was involved in espionage in Irian Jaya and stressed that President Abdurrahman Wahid was "eager" to maintain warm bilateral ties with Washington.

In an apparent attempt to contain the damage caused by the allegations, which were first relayed to the media last week by Defense Minister Mahfud M.D., presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar said "the government has found no evidence of U.S. espionage in Irian Jaya."

"It has been investigated by the Indonesian government that there is no real U.S. intervention here and there are no U.S. spies in Papua or Irian Jaya," Wimar told journalists.

Mahfud said last week that an American named Aaron Ward Maness had been arrested on Oct. 21 and was believed to be involved in espionage in Irian Jaya.

Mahfud then alleged that U.S. Ambassador Robert Gelbard intervened and took the American when he was about to be deported.

The accusations were quickly denied and the U.S. embassy said on Monday that it was "dismayed and perplexed" by Mahfud's "false charges".

Wimar said his statement was issued on Friday "to ease tensions" between Gelbard and some circles of people in Jakarta. He added that the tension was triggered by "speculation, misunderstanding and lack of clarity".

Wimar did not elaborate.

Nevertheless he did note that some of Gelbard's statements were inappropriate to people here and that the envoy did not "have to react too quickly in responding to domestic fear concerning foreign intelligence activities".

The statement came amid rising anti-U.S. sentiment in Indonesia.

But while presidential officials were quick to play down the incident and cool tensions, legislators were unrelenting with several demanding, during a hearing between Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab and the House of Representatives' Commission I on defense, security and foreign affairs, that Gelbard be declared persona non grata.

Alwi rejected such demands saying that it should be approved by the President. "If the President approves it, I will sign the letter".

However, he stated that Indonesia had no history of renouncing a U.S. ambassador, noting that even during the 1960s when ties seemed to be at their lowest point with then president Sukarno coining the slogan "go to hell with America", the government never declared a U.S. ambassador persona non grata.

Commission chairman Yasril Ananta Baharuddin during the hearing led the charge against the U.S. ambassador: "We don't hate America as a nation, but we regret the ambassador".

Several legislators also accused Alwi of being too lenient on the U.S. envoy while on the other hand being too emotional toward the Palestinian envoy Ribbhi Awad.

Rift

The U.S. embassy on Friday also issued a statement saying it was "deeply disappointed" by the actions of senior government officials "who seem determined to create a rift in an otherwise historically strong bilateral relationship".

The embassy also said it was "disturbed" by Alwi's public misrepresentation of a private conversation he had with Gelbard on Wednesday related to the security of the embassy.

The embassy claimed that Alwi's statement trivialized a credible threat to the U.S. diplomatic premises.

Alwi on Thursday said that the "threat" should not be taken seriously and opposed the closing of the embassy as it could create an impression that bilateral ties were being disturbed.

The U.S. embassy on Friday said the decision to temporarily close the embassy "was not taken out of spite or in reaction to perceived tension in the bilateral relationship" but based on "a serious assessment of the nature of the threat and the risks involved".

Meanwhile in Washington on Thursday, the U.S. State Department urged American citizens in Indonesia or East Timor to exercise extreme caution and keep a low profile, saying unrest and violence could erupt with very little warning.

"Although major tourist destinations in Bali, Java, parts of Sumatra and North Sulawesi have been relatively calm, Indonesia is experiencing a major political transition, and unrest and violence can erupt with little forewarning," Reuters quoted the State Department's public announcement. (byg/jun)