President orders ban on Jones lifted

President orders ban on Jones lifted

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Less than a week after the country refused entry to American
researcher Sidney Jones, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
ordered the lifting of the ban on Tuesday, blaming the incident
on the government of his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said that Susilo had
only learned about the expulsion from media reports, and
immediately sought an explanation from Coordinating Minister for
Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto and
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin.

"The ban was issued based on a decision made by the previous
government. The President asked (the ministers) whether the ban
was relevant to the current situation. It turned out that the
reasons were irrelevant," Andi told reporters.

Hamid, however, said on Monday that Jones had been barred from
entering Indonesia after the relevant authorities had decided she
was a threat to domestic security.

Jones, director of the Brussels-based International Crisis
Group (ICG), was denied entry to the country upon arrival at
Soekarno-Hatta Airport after a short visit to Taiwan on Thursday
of last week.

Responding to a request from the intelligence authorities, the
government of President Megawati refused to extend Jones' stay
permit and work visa in May 2004.

The intelligence authorities claimed her work was harmful
to Indonesia and that many of the ICG reports on the country's
poor human rights record and communal conflicts were untrue.

The government of Susilo did not extend the ban, which expired
last May. It even granted her a stay permit and work visa in July.

At a function here in late August, Susilo personally welcomed
Jones on her return.

Jones, who is mostly known for her in-depth reports on the al-
Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah terror group, said on Tuesday that
an Indonesian official had called her to inform her she could
return.

"Isn't it great? ... I'm absolutely delighted.

"They asked me to wait a couple of days to make sure that all
the messages get through to immigration ... This is the shortest
expulsion on record," she told Agence France Presse news agency
from Singapore.

She said she planned to return to Jakarta later this week.

Analysts had roundly condemned the government's decision to
refuse entry to Jones, saying that it was a major setback for
human rights and democracy.