** Mailing-List Indonesia Nasional Milis PPI-India www.ppi-india.da.ru ** http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Indonesia-turns-back-respected-academic/2005/03/02/1109700544957.html?oneclick=true
Indonesia turns back respected academic By Matthew Moore, Herald Correspondent, in Jakarta March 3, 2005 One of Australia's most highly regarded Indonesia experts has been banned from entering the country in a move reminiscent of restrictions imposed by the Soeharto regime. Edward Aspinall, of Sydney University, arrived in Jakarta with a business visa on Tuesday night en route to help an aid agency in Aceh. He was told his name had been placed on a blacklist on February 25, and he was sent back to Sydney on the same flight. He is the first academic to be banned from Indonesia since the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the move against someone well known for his moderate views and articles has shocked experts on Indonesia around the world. Dr Aspinall said he had lost count of the number of times he had been to Indonesia since he first lived in Java when he was 14. He was at a loss to know why he had been banned now. "I am shocked and confused, I find it very hard to know why," he said. "The staff were very polite and showed me a document which said the reason for the ban was a letter from the Indonesian ambassador, dated February 25, the same day I was issued a visa at the Indonesian consulate in Sydney." Dr Aspinall was going to Aceh as a consultant for an Australian aid agency project when he was stopped. Several weeks ago he did voluntary work in Aceh translating for Australian doctors treating patients in hospital. Last night, Indonesia's ambassador in Canberra, Imron Cotan, confirmed he had called for Dr Aspinall to be kept out of the country but refused to say why. Dr Aspinall was recently attacked by the Indonesian embassy's second secretary, Dino Kusnadi, when he was quoted by the Herald criticising the separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement. Although such comments would normally attract praise, Mr Kusnadi wrote to the Herald describing Dr Aspinall as someone "long known to harbour anti-Indonesian sentiments". Dr Aspinall has recently accepted an Australian National University appointment to take over from Dr Harold Crouch, one of the country's leading experts on Indonesia. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give the gift of life to a sick child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/lGEjbB/6WnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ** Mailing-List Indonesia Nasional Milis PPI-India www.ppi-india.uni.cc **
