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Expatriates Fleeing Indonesia Amidst Threats
JAKARTA, Oct 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Rising anti-U.S. sentiment in Indonesia and threats against foreigners of Western origin is prompting an exodus of expatriates from the country, sources said Thursday.
In addition, an international school has temporarily shut amid threats to foreign nationals should the United States attack Afghanistan as part of its war on terrorism.
Dozens of Nike employees' family members have also left Indonesia for fear of being targeted by groups seeking to forcibly expel Americans from the country.
The Mountain View International Christian School, located in the central Java city of Salatiga, will be closed for three months following a bomb threat it received on October 2nd.
Various Muslim groups have staged street rallies and threatened to attack American citizens if the U.S. takes military action against Afghanistan in its hunt for Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11th terrorist strikes on the U.S.
Antara news agency reported that there has been no subsequent activity by the groups issuing the threats and that many of the 143 students of the threatened school had returned to their countries of origin, the U.S., Japan, India and South Korea.
Salatiga police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Satria Firdaus Maseo said on Wednesday that the threat the school management received by phone and the subsequent closure were regrettable.
But he advised American citizens in Salatiga to remain vigilant. "Report any threats to the police," he said.
Tuesday's bomb threat at 9:15am was the second. The first came on Monday when a man called up the school to warn that a bomb would go off at 9:15am that morning, Satria said. Both turned out to be hoaxes.
The U.S. State Department last week told all Americans to consider leaving the country and authorized non-essential diplomatic staff to go if they wish.
In Jakarta, the Nike shoe manufacturing company reported on Wednesday that wives and children of expatriates working at the firm had returned to their home countries due to security concerns.
"Some 25 to 30 family members of expatriates working for Nike have left Indonesia," Nike Country's Manager in Indonesia, Jeff Dumont, told
The Jakarta Post Wednesday.
Dumont said he had also received information that families of the Adidas foot and sportswear company, and several other foreign firms in Indonesia had done the same as a precautionary measure.
"Many companies give freedom to their expatriates to send their families back home," said Dumont, adding that the families of Nike expatriates would come back to Indonesia when security had returned to normal.
Meanwhile, the attacks on the U.S. are threatening to undo economic reforms engaged by Jakarta after the resumption of aid from the International Monetary Fund, DBS Bank said Wednesday.
The Singapore-based bank added that this situation risks pushing the Rupiah (Indonesian currency) to the 11,500 range against the U.S. dollar after the Indonesian unit breached the 10,000 benchmark Tuesday.
Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri is walking a tightrope in balancing her largely Muslim nation's backing for the U.S.-led war against terrorism without losing the support of her Islamic backers at home, the bank said.
DBS said the rupiah's weakening "could well be the first sign that President Megawati's honeymoon may be ending much sooner than expected."
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
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