Jakarta braces for anti-West backlash
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.