LAKSAMANA.Net, May 24, 2004 05:31 PM
Travel Warnings Linked to Mining Dispute
Laksamana.Net - The US, Australia and Canada have reissued travel warnings for
Indonesia following intelligence advice that terrorist attacks are being planned against
Western targets.
The Australian advisory, updated on Monday (24/5/04), identified "credible threats" in
the areas around and between the cities of Soroako in South Sulawesi province and
Salonsa in Central Sulawesi province, where Canadian nickel mining and smelting
company Inco operates amid opposition from some locals.
"Australians are advised to avoid all travel to these areas until further notice. Those
Australians already in these areas are advised to depart," says the advisory.
It emphasizes that the security situation in Central Sulawesi remains unsettled and
sporadic sectarian clashes continue.
Soroako is located 150 kilometers south of Poso city, where Muslim radicals linked to
regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah attacked and killed about 19 Christians
late last year.
The Canadian advisory, updated on Sunday, also says there is a credible terrorist
threat to Western interests in South Sulawesi. "Canadians should not travel to this
area until further notice. Canadians already in this area should depart. Religious
tensions around Poso have eased, but the situation remains tense and there are
occasional episodes of related violence."
The US advisory, issued on Sunday, does not single out the mining areas as potential
trouble spots, but warns that regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah and other
similar terrorist groups may use the upcoming presidential election period to carry out
attacks.
A report by the Australian Associated Press reported that four of at least six
Australian workers at the Soroako mine had decided to leave the area "following
extremist death threats", while security and police personnel had been boosted
outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.
The report said the death threats were made in an SMS message to the mine's
Canadian manager, prompting at least 58 Canadian workers to leave the site.
Authorities have responded to the threats by deploying a joint taskforce of 230
soldiers and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) paramilitary police to the area to protect Inco's
operations and employees. Inco reportedly has a 3,000-strong workforce in Sulawesi,
including 80 expatriates.
Brimob, notorious for its often brutal handling of demonstrations at foreign-operated
mining sites, earlier this year shot dead a land rights protester at a gold mine
operated by Australian company Newcrest in North Maluku province.
AAP quoted unnamed sources as saying the latest threats were a combination of
warnings by locals and extremists, who had become involved in a prolonged dispute
with Inco over alleged evictions and unresolved land rights and compensation cases.
The US and Australia have routinely advised their citizens to avoid nonessential travel
to Indonesia since the October 12, 2002, Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202
people, mostly Australian tourists.
Indonesia Safe: Minister
Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda insisted that Indonesia is quite safe despite
the new travel warnings from the three countries.
"From time to time, they issue them. Sometimes there is irrational imitation. One
country issues [a travel warning] and the others don't want to be left behind," he was
quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
"But what we want to demonstrate is that even though such travel warnings are issued
every time there's an incident or a big event here, we have proven that things are
completely peaceful. That's what it is important," he added.
Wirajuda said his ministry would not summon diplomats from the US, Australia or
Canada to explain the advisories. "We can't do that because they did not present
them to us, but directly to their citizens. That's the official stance from the
government."
Tourism Data
The warnings to expatriates to leave South Sulawesi came as the local governor
announced the province's tourism figures for 2003.
Governor Amin Syam said about 11,000 foreign tourists, mostly from Malaysia,
Singapore, the US, Japan and Europe, visited the province last year, representing a
10% increase from 9,956 foreign arrivals in 2002.
He said each tourist spent between $65 to $100 per day, earning the province a total
of Rp25 billion.
Syam said the number of Indonesian tourists visiting South Sulawesi also increased,
to 622,935 in 2003 from 571,625 the previous year.
South Sulawesi last year hosted Indonesian and foreign travel writers and television
crews to promote its tourism industry.
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