Security tight for Powell's arrival

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The visit of high-ranking American officials to Indonesia always means equally high levels of security, and it was no different when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived here on Thursday.

Barely did Powell step foot on Indonesian soil and it seemed everywhere he went became a kind of U.S. territory. Indeed some local media wondered whether they'd ever get a chance to meet him at all, with only several press photographers authorized to take pictures of his arrival at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase.

True to form, Powell alighted heavily guarded by U.S. Secret Service agents.

"We cannot take pictures because they already have accredited photo and television crews covering the visit and only several designated media are allowed to enter the airport," an annoyed photographer said.

About 30 secret service agents have already been here for one week to prepare for the retired general's visit.

With his arrival at the Jakarta Convention Center on Thursday afternoon, the agents acted as if they were on home ground.

"You guys have to stay behind this line, even when there is no actual line over here, just consider this as an imaginary line. As long as you stay behind the line we are okay," an agent said to journalists.

Irritated by this "instruction", one journalist made a sarcastic comeback, "Yes, an imaginary line with barbed-wire." The agent was not impressed.

Powell will be in Jakarta for two days to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and is set to have a bilateral talks with his Indonesian counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, on Friday morning.

To prepare the visit, the secret service agency brought along special dog-handlers and cleared out an entire floor at the Mulia Hotel in South Jakarta where Powell's officials are to stay the night.

The agents also requested partitions be placed at the top of the stairway in the hotel so people couldn't see into the U.S. area.

"This is not a special request. They just asked us to follow their standard procedures for security. No journalists are allowed to go near Powell. He has his own cars and procedures. But there's nothing extraordinary in this," an official in charge of protocol told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The official acknowledged there could be problems using mobile phones during the ASEAN meeting, because American agents were planning to jam all mobile signals for security reasons.

"But this is still being arranged," he said.