Indonesia demands answers after military chief refused entry to US

Indonesia has said an apology from the US after its military chief was denied entry at the weekend does not go far enough.

Gen Gatot Nurmantyo and his entourage were scheduled to travel from Jakarta to Washington on Saturday afternoon but were informed by airline staff just before boarding that US customs and border protection had blocked their entry.

The general had been invited by Gen Joseph Dunford, chair of the US joint chiefs of staff, to attend a conference on countering violent extremism.

Seeking clarification over the embarrassing incident, Indonesia’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, summoned the deputy US ambassador to Indonesia, Erin Elizabeth McKee, to explain on Monday morning. The US ambassador, Joseph Donovan, is currently out of the country.

After the meeting, Marsudi said: “They once again stated regret and apologised. When I spoke to US ambassador Donovan yesterday he also delivered that [message], and it was repeated by them today.”

On Sunday the US embassy in Jakarta released a statement saying the ambassador had apologised to the foreign minister for any inconvenience caused to Nurmantyo.

The embassy said it had been in contact with the general’s staff throughout the weekend and remained prepared to facilitate his travel to the US.

On Monday a spokesperson from the embassy reiterated that “the issue has been resolved. We welcome Gen Gatot to travel to the United States.”

It remains unclear why Nurmantyo was initially barred from entry. A spokesperson for the Indonesian military said visas and relevant travel documents had been arranged before the scheduled visit.

Marsudi said the repeated apologies from the US had fallen short of resolving the issue. “This issue is very important and we are trying to continue to insist that the US immediately give an explanation,” she said.

Yohanes Sulaiman, a defence lecturer from Ahmad Dhani University, described the incident as an insult to Indonesia . “If it was is an administrative error or something else, they have to say it, otherwise it will have problems in the long run,” he said.

“Also the United States has just released all those files about from the 1960s,” he added, referring to a cache of diplomatic cables released last week that revealed detailed US knowledge of the widespread killings of up to 500,000 alleged communists in Indonesia between 1965-66.

Without a proper explanation from the US, Sulaiman said, the general may try to exploit the incident by appealing to widespread nationalistic sentiment to bolster his political standing.

Nurmantyo, who is scheduled to retire next March, has caused several recent controversies, sparking speculation among observers that he is attempting to increase his political profile before the 2019 presidential elections.