JAKARTA. Following the fourth round of evacuations of Indonesian nationals from Yemen this month, the Foreign Ministry insists that it has no plans to close down the Indonesian embassy in Sanaa or relocate its Yemeni operations to another country.
“As of now, evacuations will still be carried out if necessary. We are monitoring the situation on the ground but have made no plans to relocate or close down our embassy in Sanaa,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said at the Foreign Ministry office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.
Tene explained that an embassy would be closed only if it was too dangerous for it to continue to operate. During the Libyan civil war, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the closure and evacuation of the Indonesian embassy in Tripoli as NATO air strikes bombarded the city in March 2011.
Yemen has struggled to contain an al-Qaeda-led insurgency that has led to suicide attacks against military and security personnel.
The embassy in Sanaa has been conducting periodic evacuations of Indonesian citizens since Oct. 15. So far, around 80 citizens have been evacuated and flown out of Yemen.
The government has issued a travel advisory discouraging Indonesians from visiting Yemen due to the country's security problems. (Dylan Amirio)
