West Sumatra could become off-limits to foreign tourists

Kasparman, The Jakarta Post, Padang

It is feared that West Sumatra will become a no-go area for foreigners following threats by members of the Islam Defenders Front in Padang to launch "sweeping" not only against American citizens, but also against American products.

"Such threats are worrying as their impact will severely hurt not only the local people, but also the expatriates," Hendra Irwan Rahim, a member of the West Sumatra legislative council, said on Thursday.

Hendra told The Jakarta Post that the threatened action against American products was actually more insidious than the threats to search and expel people.

"This will likely cause large-scale disruption as we know that many American products are popularly used and offered for sale here," he said.

He further said that the threats would severely hurt the tourist industry in West Sumatra, which has already become one of the country's major tourist destinations due to its beautiful scenery.

He also pointed out that tourism in the province has contributed greatly to the economy in terms of foreign exchange earnings.

If the Muslim group insists on going ahead with their plan, it will discourage foreigners from visiting the province, he said.

Hendra, therefore, urged the group to thoroughly consider the possible effects of the plan before proceeding with it. He argued that the plan could not have been thought up by Muslims as Islam did not teach revenge.

Wahyu Irama Putra, a local tourism operator, strongly deplored the plan, saying that it would make West Sumatra province dangerous for foreign tourists. "What's the use of aggressive advertising campaigns if we cannot guarantee their (the tourists') safety?" he asked.

There was no point in blindly showing solidarity with Afghanistan if this created another serious problem for West Sumatra, which depended heavily on tourism, he said.

"If recent riots in other regions have affected tourist arrivals in West Sumatra, what kind of other consequences can we expect if the riots take place here?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Hasyim Muzadi, the chairman of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said on Thursday that the NU disagreed with the plan to seek out and expel Americans.

If they insisted on going ahead with their plan, it would only worsen the various difficult problems faced by the Indonesian people, he said.

"In a country whose economy depends heavily on other countries, Indonesia will collapse if such a confrontation takes place at the moment," he said as quoted by Detikcom.

Hasyim also urged the United States to adopt just policies in responding to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Otherwise it will become a terrorist nation itself," he added.