Paras Indonesia, 11, 28 2005 @ 08:17 pm
Minister Deems Jones a Security Threat
Roy Tupai
Justice and Human Rights Minister has defended the government’s decision to ban
American human rights activist and terrorism expert Sidney Jones from Indonesia,
claiming her public comments are a threat to national security and stability.
The minister on Monday (28/11/05) said the move to bar Jones from entering the
country for a year was based on intelligence and police information.
"The information and thoughts from various departments conclude that Sidney Jones
is being barred to enter Indonesia for our security," he was quoted as saying by
Reuters.
"We are not talking about security in a physical sense but security in relation to the
stability of our life in the form of public opinion," he said.
Jones, who speaks Indonesian fluently and first came to the country in 1977, is the
Southeast Asia project director of the International Crisis Group (ICG). She has
produced numerous in-depth reports on local terrorism groups and on conflict areas
such as Aceh, the Maluku islands, Sulawesi and Papua.
She is often quoted in the local and foreign media, although it’s unclear whether any
of her recent public comments had upset any officials.
Jones was first expelled from Indonesia in June 2004 by the administration of
ex-president Megawati Sukarnoputri after then State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief
Hendropriyono accused her of subversion and slandering Indonesia to get money from
abroad.
Jones was eventually allowed back into Indonesia in July 2005, having obtained a
work visa and residency permit under the administration of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono.
Last Thursday, she was again barred from entering the country, when returning from a
two-day trip to Taiwan, where she had picked up an award from Time magazine on
behalf of ICG.
Jones has now gone to Singapore and says no one in the Indonesian government has
explained to her why she has been expelled.
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