ARAB-ISLAMIC AFFAIRS - Oct. 29 - Anti-US Actions In Indonesia.

Radical Islamic groups, including Laskar Jundullah (the army of God's soldiers, stalk through the major hotels in Solo, a city of about 420 km south-east of Jakarta, searching for Americans whom they vow to expel from Indonesia - the most populated country in the Muslim world. Angered by Washington's open bias to Israel against the Arabs, they are after the US Ambassador to Jakarta, Robert Gelbard, who took this post in 1999 and has since been increasingly unpopular in Indonesia. (US-Indonesian relations have deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks, following a series of high-profile disputes between Gelbard and Indonesian officials and lawmakers, who have accused the US of meddling in their internal affairs. As a result, protests and threats against American citizens, companies, and facilities in Indonesia, which has the world's fourth-largest population, are on the rise. The US Embassy in Jakarta, fearing what it called a "credible threat of attack", has closed its doors to the public for the foreseeable future. Gelbard is under heavy guard amid death threats and calls by Indonesian lawmakers for his removal. The State Department has advised Americans in Indonesia to keep a low profile, saying unrest and violence could erupt with little warning. The US Embassy says in a statement its consular and visa services would not reopen because of a continuing threat of attack. In recent weeks, the embassy has been the scene of angry and sometimes violent protests). Young men dressed in white robes descend on one Solo hotel and demand to see a guest list. When the manager refuses, the group distributes leaflets demanding that all Americans leave Indonesia within 48 hours and warning hotels in Solo not to accept Americans as guests or face unspecified risks. Laskar Jundullah leader called Kalono tells a local news service his group has evidence that US citizens and military personnel are instigating the violence raging across Indonesia. He adds: "We will conduct sweeps through the hotels at least once a week. If we find any Americans, we take firm action against them". The group demands that Gelbard be replaced as ambassador. (For many Indonesians, the rupture in diplomatic relations with the US can be traced to Gelbard, who since assuming the post, has been an outspoken critic of corruption and what he sees as the Indonesian government's slow pace of economic and social reforms. Gelbard has strongly criticised Jakarta for failing to bring its military under greater civilian control and to disarm militias, accused of killing three UN refugee workers in West Timor. Gelbard's brash manner has clashed sharply with the typically calm, nonconfrontational style of politics practised by the Javanese, who dominate the higher ranks of government and parliament in Indonesia. Several government officials and legislators have accused Gelbard of interfering and attempting to influence cabinet-level and senior military appointments. Some lawmakers have demanded his recall. Others have threatened to declare him persona non grata. FM Alwi Shihab says: "Though he might have good intentions, if he doesn't understand the culture it could be misinterpreted").