In this July 8, 2015 file photo, Indonesian Armed Forces Chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo poses for a photo after his swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia's government is seeking clarification from the US after Nurmantyo was denied entry to the country. (ACHMAD IBRAHIM / AP)
JAKARTA, INDONESIA - A US diplomat apologized to Indonesia's government
Monday 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 US ambassador to Indonesia, did not
explain why Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo was prevented from boarding a flight to the
US but said the matter had been resolved.
The deputy US ambassador to Indonesia didn't explain why Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo was prevented from boarding but said the matter had been resolved
McKee met with Indonesia's
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Monday morning and said she apologized. US
Ambassador Joseph Donovan also offered an apology, according to a statement
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," she
said.
Marsudi said Indonesia still expects the US to provide a more
complete explanation.
"I've said that it was not enough. We still need an
explanation of why the incident happened," she told reporters.
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 military spokesman Wuryanto, who goes by one name.
Nurmantyo
had been invited by Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of
Staff, to attend a conference in Washington on countering extremist
organizations.
Wuryanto said that Nurmantyo, his wife and an entourage of
four officials had US visas and that Nurmantyo last visited the US in
February 2016.