Police guarantee safety of U.S. missions in RI

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian police said on Friday that they could guarantee the safety of U.S. assets across the country, but would not be dictated to about how to do their jobs.

Speaking after a meeting with Vice President Hamzah Haz, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar regretted the closure of the U.S.'s diplomatic missions in Jakarta and Surabaya, saying this reflected the American government's distrust of the police's ability to maintain security in the country.

"We guarantee their safety. We accept that responsibility. But, we refuse to be dictated to about how we perform our duties," Da'i said.

The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and consulate in Surabaya have been closed since Tuesday due to "specific terrorist threats".

The move startled Indonesian officials. Even President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is still on a 15-day overseas trip, said in Cairo that the closures should never have occurred.

"Indonesia as a host treats its guests well and takes good care of them," she said as quoted by AFP on Thursday in Egypt, where she is on a three-day visit.

Hamzah, after meeting U.S. Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce, ordered the police on Thursday to increase security around U.S. missions.

Apparently offended by the order, Da'i during the press conference repeatedly said that no threat had been detected against the U.S. missions and so far there had been no U.S. communication with the police regarding the matter.

"We know what is going on in the field. We take full responsibility. So, let us handle the security issue," Da'i said.

He added that the National Police would increase security at U.S. missions, but refused to disclose the number of police reinforcements that would be drafted in.

The New York Times reported that the information concerning a threat had been obtained from Omar Faruq, an Al-Qaeda operative arrested in East Java by the Indonesian authorities. Da'i, however, claimed the police had never heard about the reported arrest nor the information supplied.

When asked whether it was the police who arrested and deported Faruq, he said:"The police never do that."

Just outside the U.S. Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan on Friday, fully armed police officers were seen standing by every 10 meters around the compound.

There has been no official confirmation of when the embassy will reopen, but a spokesman for the embassy told The Jakarta Post that this might happen as early as Monday.

Meanwhile, dozens of Islamic Youth Defenders Movement activists rallied in front of the U.S. Embassy after Friday prayers to protest Washington's plans to attack Iraq.

They burned an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.S. flag. No arrests were made even though such acts are forbidden under Indonesian law.