Call for closure of Namru-2 in Indonesia increasing

"This laboratory has been in Indonesia without a permit for over 40 years for research of diseases. Various types of viruses from Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia had been studied in this laboratory," she said.

The minister suspected that the results of the research work may be used for a certain dangerous and mysterious target and she was also very concerned about the government for being unable to prevent the country from threats of foreign powers already inside the country.

Especially that Namru-2 was headed by a colonel of the US Navy, she said during a hearing with the House Commission I.

Sharing her views, Mutammimul Ula, a law maker of Commission I which deals with foreign affairs, also urged the government to stop and take over the operation of the Namru-2 laboratory.

In the 30 years of operation in Indonesia, Namru-2 was considered to have failed in providing the country concrete results for the defense and health sectors.

Other legislators, according to the law maker, agreed to the cancellation of a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be released by the Foreign Ministry.

Indonesia has established cooperation with various institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO) on research and data transfer. It is for those reasons that an extension of the cooperation with Namru-2 is no longer necessary.

Furthermore, he said the government should conduct an investigation on an allegation that Namru-2 staffers had been involved in intelligence operations. "In addition, the US embassy in Jakarta should provide evidence that Namru-2 is not an institution engaged in espionage."

The legislator however believed that ...