RI withdraws embassy staff from Iraq
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.