Jakarta braces for anti-West backlash
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A number of Western embassies and international schools were closed on Monday, while some foreigners began to leave the capital as hard-line organizations threatened attacks in retaliation for the U.S.-led air strikes on Afghanistan.
The U.S., British, French and Australian embassies remained closed and warned citizens to stay at home.
British Ambassador Richard Gozney said on Monday that the closure would be temporary and was to preempt adverse reactions to the U.S.-British attack on Afghanistan on Sunday.
"The British Embassy is closed today. We have yet to decide when we will reopen," Gozney told reporters after meeting Vice President Hamzah Haz at the vice president's office to brief the latter on the attacks.
He declined to mention Hamzah's response to the attack, but said that the vice president had guaranteed the safety of British citizens in Indonesia.
The ambassador said he had issued an advisory for some 4,000 British citizens in Indonesia to stay at home and for some 2,000 British tourists visiting Indonesia to stay in their hotels.
"They should stay in their homes and hotels, except those visiting Bali -- they can still travel around the island," he said.
"But we have yet to issue an advisory for British citizens to leave Indonesia," he added.
Meanwhile, one U.S. Embassy official, who refused to be named, said that the embassy was closed for Columbus Day and also "to avoid unwanted responses from certain groups."
The official noted that the embassy had also prepared a contingency plan, including evacuating Americans in the capital, should the situation get worse.
In fact, the U.S. government announced earlier that it would permit non-essential staff to leave the country.
About 10,000 Americans live in the country.
An anti-American protest, as anticipated, materialized in the afternoon at the U.S. Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta. About one thousand people from various Muslim organizations joined the protest.
They all condemned the U.S-led military attacks on Afghanistan, and some even demanded that the government sever diplomatic ties with the U.S.
Hard-line groups such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) renewed their threat to hunt down Americans and expel them from Indonesia.
Police sealed off the U.S. Embassy compound with barbed wire, effectively preventing the protesters from getting too close.
In addition, 30 armored vehicles were standing by in the National Monument Park.
The protests proceeded peacefully, but the threats made so far have frightened many foreigners.
The Jakarta International School in Cilandak, British International School in Bintaro and North Jakarta International School in Kelapa Gading were all closed Monday and will remain closed indefinitely.
Scores of foreigners working in the capital have left for safer countries, including Singapore.
"The majority of foreign lawyers in our firm left for Singapore this morning, but some have chosen to stay," said a lawyer with the Makarim and Taira law firm, Tasdikiah Siregar.
Some Americans continued working on Monday.
"I'm not leaving because I have a job here ... I'm worried sometimes, but I'm quite certain that I will be safe," said Jason O'Donnel, an English language teacher.
There have been no reports of an increase in airline and hotel bookings. The situation at Soekarno-Hatta International airport was still normal.
"We haven't seen any increase in passengers, and flights are operating according to the normal schedule," a duty officer at the airport said.