RI citizens in Mideast told to prepare for evacuation

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has evacuated 25 of 84 Indonesians living in Iraq and warned nationals in other Middle Eastern countries to be ready to evacuate if the United States decides to take military action against Iraq.

The chairman of a national task force in charge of evacuating citizens in Middle Eastern countries, Gen. (ret) Widodo A.S., said here on Friday that there were some 40,000 Indonesians living in Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar who should be evacuated in the event that there is a war in Iraq.

"Our embassies in those countries have alerted our citizens there to be ready should the government decide to evacuate them," Widodo said after a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Widodo said that his team was working closely with several international organizations, such as the International Organization of Migration (IOM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Red Cross, for the planned evacuation.

"We are prepared but of course the implementation of the plan will be decided on following the developments in Iraq," he said.

The four-star general said that the government had no choice but to prepare a contingency plan as geographically those countries would be affected by a war in Iraq.

Widodo, who was appointed to lead the task force by Megawati last week, has to report directly to the President even if it comes under the authority of the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs.

The task force oversees the evacuation program for Indonesian citizens in Middle Eastern countries and handles any reactions at home against possible U.S. attacks on Iraq.

The United States and close ally Britain have accused Iraq of producing weapons of mass destruction and told Iraq to disarm or face the full brunt of military might.

Iraq has consistently denied the accusation but allowed United Nations inspectors in to investigate the allegation. The team has accused Iraq of not fully cooperating with UN investigators.

The U.S. and Britain have sent troops to Iraq's borders, warning the world that they would strike with or without UN consent.

Indonesia has called on the U.S. to exercise self-restraint and allow the UN team to search for Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

The government is also preparing a contingency plan to get Indonesian citizens, mostly migrant workers, out of the Middle East. It has also suspended the departures of those planning to work in those countries.

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Thursday that Middle Eastern countries fully understood Jakarta's plan to ensure the safety of its citizens.

"They welcome our decisions to prepare a contingency plan as they are fully aware of the fact that it would be difficult for them to safeguard foreigners during times of war," Hassan said.

He underlined the fact that none of those countries complained about the evacuation plan.

"They understand that we have an obligation to ensure the safety of our citizens there and not because we undermine their capability of securing their own country," Hassan said.