Govt won't question U.S. over al-Farouq's escape

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda said on Wednesday that his office had no plans to seek an explanation from the U.S. over the escape of Omar al-Farouq from a U.S. maximum security prison.

He said that al-Farouq, believed to be one of the senior leaders of the terror network al-Qaeda, was no longer Indonesia's problem as the country had already handed him over to the U.S. after he was arrested in Bogor, West Java, three years ago.

"For us, since we had arrested al-Farouq and handed him over to the U.S., he is no longer our problem," he told a press conference after a meeting at the presidential office.

Hassan said that his office had not obtained any official diplomatic notification from the U.S. government about the case.

Al-Farouq and three other terror suspects escaped a U.S. military prison in Afghanistan in July, but news of his escape was only disclosed to the press last week.

Several lawmakers and analysts have called on the government to seek an explanation from the U.S. about the escape.

"The most important thing for us is that we must be prepared in case he attempts to reenter the country," Hassan said.

Farouq, a Kuwait citizen, has an Indonesian wife who lives in Bogor.

Meanwhile, the police said they would closely monitor the entry of foreigners into West Java and beef up security as a precautionary measure after the escape of al-Farouq.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko said that the police, working together with Interpol, would tighten security measures in the area since al-Farouq's wife Mira Agustina resides in West Java.

"The West Java Police will carry out security measures to prevent al-Farouq from entering West Java. Other regional police will have to apply the same measures," Soenarko said.

Soenarko also said that the police have contacted immigration offices at various entry points in Indonesia so that they could monitor the influx of foreigners.

"Apart from the immigration offices, we're also tightening security at our borders," he said.