U.S. barred Indonesia’s top general due to ‘administrative error’

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s military chief was temporarily barred from travelling to a conference in the United States due to an administrative error, the US embassy said Wednesday.

The incident sparked a diplomatic upset, with Jakarta demanding an explanation and Washington apologizing several times through its embassy.

General Gatot Nurmantyo was turned away at Jakarta airport on Saturday by the US Customs and Border Protection agency.

He had been invited to the Washington conference by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, America’s highest-ranking military officer.

“General Gatot Nurmantyo and his wife were delayed in their ability to board their flight due to an administrative error. The error was quickly corrected,” the embassy said in an online statement.

It said it had taken measures to prevent any recurrence and reiterated there were now no travel restrictions on Nurmantyo or his wife.

Nurmantyo said he was cleared to travel on a later flight, but was ordered not to do so by President Joko Widodo, according to local media on Tuesday.

The conference of national defence chiefs was on countering violent extremism. – Rappler.com