Indonesians in Kuwait on high alert

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the war in Iraq starting to affecting its neighboring countries, the Indonesian government has intensified preparations for the evacuation of its 35,000 citizens in Kuwait to a safer location.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on Saturday that the embassy in Kuwait City had prepared steps to move Indonesian nationals to the southern part of Kuwait should the situation worsen.

"Our embassy reported that so far, there has been no major exodus or evacuation of our citizens, as the situation remains normal despite the war," he told The Jakarta Post.

The Indonesian Embassy is also preparing additional places of refuge for its citizens in anticipation of a mass evacuation. The Indonesian government has chosen Saudi Arabia as the central refuge for Indonesians in the Middle East should the Iraq war escalate.

Marty said that the chief of the national team on Iraq, Adm. (ret) Widodo A.S., is currently assessing the condition in Kuwait to see whether it was necessary to relocate Indonesian citizens.

"The President is expected to hear further recommendations from Pak Widodo as to whether we have to take other emergency steps in Kuwait," Marty remarked.

Widodo left for Kuwait on Thursday as soon as the United States began its strike on Iraq, which borders Kuwait.

Kuwait has been targeted by Iraqi missiles since the beginning of the war, as many U.S. troops are stationed there.

Air raid sirens have been keeping the country on high alert to possible missile attacks.

Several other governments, such as those of Germany and Malaysia, are also preparing to evacuate their nationals from countries bordering Iraq.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has received airspace clearance for its Hercules C-130 military transporters flying into Kuwait, Syria, Iran, Jordan and Bahrain, the New Straits Times said.

Malaysian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Syed Hussein Al Habshee said Bahrain and Kuwait had given the green light for RMAF transport planes to fly over their respective airspace and land in Kuwait City to pick up Malaysian nationals.

Government data shows that most of the Indonesian nationals working in Kuwait are domestic helpers.

Marty said that the embassy had assigned several officers as regional coordinators to conduct regular supervision of Indonesians in Kuwait, should immediate evacuation be necessary.

"We have received reports from the coordinator and so far, our citizens working as domestic helpers are remaining with their employers, and we hope they will accompany their employers to safer grounds in the event their employers decide to do so," he added.

The evacuation team has been working to prepare emergency procedures over the past three months, while seeking guarantees from several Middle Eastern countries for the safety of Indonesian nationals in the region.