West Sumatra could become off-limits to foreign tourists
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.