US apology to Indonesia for banning top general
Print Edition
An American diplomat apologized to Indonesia’s government yesterday after the top Indonesian general was prevented from traveling to Washington, but a Jakarta official said the country expected a complete explanation.
Erin McKee, the deputy United States ambassador to Indonesia, did not explain why General Gatot Nurmantyo was prevented from boarding a flight to the US but said the matter had been resolved.
McKee met Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi yesterday morning and said she apologized. US Ambassador Joseph Donovan also offered an apology, according to a statement on Sunday from the embassy. He is currently visiting a remote part of Indonesia.
Relations between the US and Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, are generally friendly. Indonesia’s military has a checkered human rights record, but Nurmantyo himself has not been accused of rights abuses.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience that this incident caused and we apologize,” McKee told reporters. “There are absolutely no issues with his ability to travel to the United States. We welcome him. The embassy is working very hard to understand what happened.”
Nurmantyo and his wife had planned to leave Indonesia on Saturday evening but were told by their airline shortly before departure that US Customs would deny their entry, according to a military spokesman.
Nurmantyo had been invited by General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, to attend a conference in Washington.
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