Government issues travel warning for Indonesia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel warning yesterday, urging Taiwanese nationals intending to travel to Indonesia for sightseeing or business purposes to be on alert against possible dangers.

The ministry issued the travel warning just hours before the Indonesian legislature sacked President Abdurrahman Wahid and replaced him with Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Ministry spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said that the ministry is keeping a close watch on political developments in Indonesia and that it has drafted a contingency plan to deal with the situation there.

"ROC expatriates in Indonesia are welcome to contact our representative office there for emergency assistance," Chang said.

Quoting the latest report from the Taiwan representative office in Jakarta, Chang said the general situation in Indonesia remains calm at the moment.

"Basically, we don't expect that large-scale riots similar to those seen three years ago will erupt this time. Nevertheless, our representative office in Indonesia will still be put on heightened security alert and will closely monitor political developments in the country," Chang said.

If possible, Chang said, the MOFA hopes that Taiwanese nationals can avoid traveling to the Jakarta or Surabaya areas for the time being for safety reasons.

Meanwhile, the Taipei Travel Association (台北觀光旅遊協會)　said it has made all the necessary preparations to cope with any possible political turbulence that may erupt in Indonesia.

At the moment, the association said, none of its member travel agencies has organized any tour groups to the Jakarta area.

"Currently, local travel agencies only organize tour groups to the popular scenic island of Bali," an association spokesman said.