The Jakarta Post, 1/14/2005 11:43:40 AM
Britain closes embassy in Indonesia after bomb threat
LONDON (AFP): Britain closed its embassy in Jakarta on Thursday following a bomb
threat, the foreign ministry announced.
"The British Embassy and the Consulate General have suspended services with
immediate effect in response to the specific bomb threat to the embassy," the Foreign
Office said in a statement.
"We continue to receive reports that terrorists in Indonesia are planning further attacks
on Westerners and Western interests."
It said services will remain suspended while Britain monitors the security situation.
"Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia and are likely to be directed
against locations frequented by foreigners.
"Terrorists have shown in previous attacks, like the attack on the Australian Embassy
and the Bali bombings, that they have the means and the motivation to carry out
successful attacks," the statement said.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated country, has been hit by a series of
terrorist attacks in recent years, all blamed on the Jamaah Islamiyah extremist group
said to be the Southeast Asian arm of al-Qaeda.
The deadliest attack on nightclubs on the resort island of Bali in October 2002 left 202
people dead, mostly foreign holidaymakers. An attack on the Australian embassy in
Jakarta last September left 11 people dead.
Indonesia has been on high alert for a possible attack in recent weeks following
warnings by foreign governments that terrorists may be plotting an attack to coincide
with the Christmas period.
Australia, Britain, the United States and New Zealand have all advised their citizens to
avoid unnecessary travel to the country. (**)
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