Indonesia Says Foreign Troops Must Leave by March 26

[seriousstan]

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Jan. 12 - Indonesia today stepped up its effort to assert control over international relief operations here, saying all foreign troops have to leave the country by March 26, and that its own forces would take over.

Two more battalions of Indonesian forces will be sent in to aid the relief effort, Indonesia's vice president, Jusuf Kalla, said.

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The United States ambassador to Indonesia, B. Lynn Pascoe, said, "We will stay as long as needed."

The move comes after the Indonesian military on Tuesday ordered restrictions on foreign aid workers, limiting their free operation to the two main cities hit by the tsunami in an effort to assert control over international relief operations here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/international/worldspecial4/12cnd-indo.html?hp&ex=1105592400&en=818a6237440a49c7&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[forintegrity]

1. They don't want to become

another occupied territory. But who would do something like that? Certainly not the USA!

[Redstone]

2. Oh, boy, here it comes...

Spokesman for Evil Monstrous Militaristic Indonesian Government says: "OK, let's get all you people out of here so we can resume our genocidal ethnic cleansing without anyone seeing it, just like before."

Spokeswoman for Evil Monstrous Militaristic U.S. Government says: "Screw you, brown boy, we're here, we're locked and loaded, and we're not leaving until we find out exactly where all the oil is, and maybe not even then if we don't feel like going home."

How long, do you think, until Bush and them "find out" that "Indonesia has stockpiles of WMDs, and must be dealt with before they supply them to terrorists to attack us with."

They're setting the stage.

Redstone

[ROC]

3. If they don't want us, lets leave.

Those battle groups and airlift capacity can be used in more welcoming areas or redeployed to the regular duty.

[saltpoint]

4. Redstone's thoughts here are striking --

-- and have a solid, believable ring, too.

I do not trust the motives of U.S. foreign policy generally and the U.S. military's furtive schemes particularly.

The Pentagon wanted a BASE in Indonesia to "administer aid."

Right.

[RuleofLaw]

5. I find the statement of the Ambassador amassing

"The United States ambassador to Indonesia, B. Lynn Pascoe, said, "We will stay as long as needed.""

Why not say we will respect the will of the sovereign government of Indonesia.

He is basically saying that it is up to the US how long they stay and no one else.

[David__77]

6. Indonesia should view these troops as a security threat.

That doesn't mean to expel them immediately, but it is clear that Indonesia should stand guard against foreign interference, especially in light of the CIA-provoked genocide there in 1965-1966. I was just reading more the subject--it is truly an astounding crime in the same league as Hitler and company.

[Princess Turandot]

7. They asked all foreign troops to leave..by MARCH 26th..

You can believe whatever you believe abt why the American and Australian military is there, but asking them to leave by 2 1/2 months from now seems a bit more like political posturing to me than anything else. (Spain also has a vessel en route.)

The article also says they are restricting the movement of foreign aid workers.

"To compensate for the departing foreign troops, the Indonesian military would send three more battalions of soldiers and a battalion of "mobile brigade" police, the government said. The police "mobile brigades" are generally the forced most feared by civilians in Aceh. The brigades are regularly described by civilians as being the most brutal of the array of forces here."

That sounds good.