The New York Times, Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Indonesian Unapologetic on Expulsion
By JANE PERLEZ
JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 31 - President Megawati Sukarnoputri, in a rare
appearance at a news conference, made no apologies on Monday for her
government's decision to expel a leading American expert on Indonesia's terrorist
groups.
Mrs. Megawati, persuaded to face reporters because of her low standing in opinion
polls as the election for president in July approaches, also fielded questions about her
economic policies and her opponents in the race.
The terrorism expert, Sidney Jones, heads the Jakarta office of the International Crisis
Group, which is based in Brussels. She wrote a series of reports on the inner
workings of the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah that received wide attention.
Law enforcement and intelligence officials in Washington had praised the detailed
reports, which describe the background and workings of Jemaah Islamiyah, which has
links to Al Qaeda. The reports, filled with the names of the group's members, their
rank and duties, were based on court documents from the Suharto era as well as on
interviews with disaffected members.
But Mrs. Megawati suggested that Indonesia's willingness to fight against terrorists,
and the matter of Ms. Jones, were separate. "We are fighting terrorism," she said,
insisting that technically she had not expelled Ms. Jones.
The government informed Ms. Jones on Friday that her residence visa would not be
renewed, Ms. Jones said Monday. Earlier, the government refused to renew her work
permit.
Ms. Jones, who speaks Indonesian and studied here in the early 1980's, said
Monday, "I have to be out by June 10, and I can't come back in a working capacity."
The director of the State Intelligence Agency, Gen. Hendropriyono, a political ally of
Mrs. Megawati, publicly complained last week about Ms. Jones's reports. Though he
has been leading the charge against Ms. Jones, other cabinet members, including
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, have also criticized her work.
In an interview published Monday in Tempo, the nation's leading news magazine,
General Hendropriyono is quoted as saying of Ms. Jones: "She's been working here
drawing attention to human rights. Then she writes reports and sends them abroad,
even though they are not all true." He added, "There must be steps taken against
people who are not liked by the people of Indonesia."
General Hendropriyono was one of the Bush administration's favorite Indonesian
officials after 9/11, in large part because he was one of the few senior officials who
appeared to take terrorism seriously. His star in Washington was somewhat eclipsed
after the Bali bombing in 2002, when the Indonesian police did much of the
investigative work. Still, he visited Washington earlier this year and had a meeting at
the C.I.A.
During the three-decade authoritarian Suharto government, independent work like that
of the International Crisis Group was banned. The Jakarta Post, the English language
daily newspaper, titled an editorial condemning the moves against Ms. Jones "Back
to the Suharto Years."
Copyright © 2004 The New York Times Company.
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