RI withdraws embassy staff from Iraq
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia has temporarily closed its embassy in Baghdad with the evacuation of the last group of 30 Indonesians as a war on Iraq will likely begin in a few days.
The 30 people, including the Indonesian ambassador to Iraq and 25 students, left the Iraqi capital on Monday for Damascus, Syria. Two students insisted on staying in Baghdad.
"As we speak, the last batch of Indonesians are leaving Iraq. We must pull out every citizen should the war begin in a few days," Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The official said that Ambassador Dachlan Abdul Hamid would stay in Damascus waiting for further development of the situation in the Middle East, while the students would be able to continue their studies in Syria.
The last two Indonesian students were part of the 17 students who signed a disclaimer that they would be fully responsible for their personal safety in Iraq, as they had rejected being evacuated by the Indonesian government.
U.S. President George W. Bush has given another 24 hours until Monday for a diplomatic solution to end the crisis before it and its allies start a war on Iraq.
The statement put the rest of the world under alert, with most countries also closing their embassies temporarily and evacuating their last remaining citizens out of Iraq.
Most Indonesian nationals had left the country starting last month along with embassy staff, who were evacuated to Damascus or to Jakarta.
Chief of Indonesia's national team to anticipate war in Iraq Adm. (ret) Widodo A.S. has forged cooperation with eight countries bordering Iraq to help handle its interests, including the evacuation, if necessary.
Besides a global antiwar protest, many countries and international figures have warned the U.S. against attacking Iraq, saying such a unilateral action was against the UN Convention and would cause a world disorder.
So far, some 150,000 Indonesians are still being employed as domestic helpers by families in the region and the respective countries have assured of the workers' safety should a war erupt.
Marty said that the government had yet to decide whether they would repatriate the diplomats and other Indonesian citizens should the situation deteriorate in the Gulf.
He further said that the ambassador reported that Indonesian activist Dita Indah Sari, who was taking part in the human shield activity to protest U.S. war plans, had also left Iraq.
"As far as the ambassador's report reveals, aside from the two students, no Indonesians are now in Iraq as of Monday," said Marty.