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Obama still plans to visit `old hometown'

In the wake of a major crackdown on terrorism, officials said a visit by US President Barack Obama to his "old hometown" Jakarta in November was still on schedule

Abdul Khalik (The Jakarta Post)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sat, September 26, 2009

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Obama still plans to visit `old hometown'

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n the wake of a major crackdown on terrorism, officials said a visit by US President Barack Obama to his "old hometown" Jakarta in November was still on schedule.

"The tentative plan is a two-day visit in the capital. But, depending on the security situation, as it may just be on Nov. 12. One thing for sure is that he will meet with President Yudhoyono for bilateral talks and will visit his old school in Menteng, South Jakarta," an official requesting anonymity said.

On Sept. 17, a police counterterrorism squad hunted down terrorist suspects in Surakarta, Central Java and confirmed that the long-sought figure, Malaysian national Noordin M. Top, was shot dead in the raid, the latest event in the intense operations following the July 17 bombings of two luxury hotels in Jakarta.

While the death of Noordin removed a major security threat, police said they were still hunting for other fugitives.

Obama's visit will be a stopover before flying to Singapore to attend the meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Nov. 14-Nov. 15.

"The US Embassy in Jakarta has officially submitted a formal pro-posal for the visit," the official said, just before Obama hosted a working dinner for G20 leaders, including President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono during the summit here Thursday.

Obama spent a few years as a child living in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971 after his mother married an Indonesian. Following the twin blasts at the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in July, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he had "no reason to believe" that the events had "changed or lessened the president's desire to visit Indonesia."

Obama had said in June: "Oh, I need to come to Indonesia soon. I expect to be traveling to Asia at some point within the next year and I would be surprised if when I came to Asia I did not stop by my old hometown of Jakarta.

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