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| Southeast Asia |
| Yudhoyono sez Jones's expulsion due Megawati paperwork |
| 2005-11-29 |
| Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday an American expert on terrorism had been expelled because of a previous administration's decision that had not been updated by immigration authorities. But a spokesman for Yudhoyono, Andi Mallarangeng, stopped short of saying Sidney Jones, 53, could return to Jakarta. The comments follow a statement by the justice minister on Monday who said Jones had been turned back at Jakarta's international airport last Thursday because she was a security threat. Mallarangeng said the president had asked the justice minister and the chief security minister about Jones after reading news of her expulsion in the press. "He asked what the reason was and it come back that it was a reason adopted by the last government. After being reviewed, this is not relevent anymore," Mallarangeng told Reuters. "If it's not relevant, then there's no reason for doing that. Unfortunately the record (in immigration) has not been updated." Asked if immigration had been instructed to fix the problem, he said: "Automatically, if there is no reason for doing that. The record will be updated." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |