Government Of Canada Issues New Travel Advisory For Indonesia Over Terrorism Threats And Violence
If you're looking to travel to Southeast Asia soon, you might want to double check that the specific area you're visiting is safe for travel. The Government of Canada has issued a new travel advisory for Indonesia over terrorism threats and violence. The new advisory was updated yesterday on April 3, 2019, and remains in effect until further notice.
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The government is now warning Canadians to be extra careful when travelling in Indonesia and to refrain from visiting certain areas. "Exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia due to political and social tensions and the threat of terrorism throughout the country," reads the travel advisory from the Canadian government.
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Certain regions of Indonesia are even deemed completely unsafe for travel and the government is cautioning travellers to avoid non-essential travel. Canadians are being warned to avoid all non-essential travel to Indonesian province Papua due to the risk of frequent violence.
In Papua, "there has been ongoing political tension and regular violent occurrences since October 2011. In some cases, foreigners and foreign businesses have been targeted by local militants," reads the travel advisory.
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For other areas in Indonesia, the government is warning Canadians to be extra careful due to risks of terrorism throughout the country. "There is a threat of terrorism in Indonesia," reads the warning. "While effective counterterrorism measures by Indonesian authorities are in place, terrorist cells are active and have the capacity to carry out attacks anywhere in the country."
The government predicts that more terrorist attacks will happen in Indonesia in the future. "In May 2018, bomb attacks occurred in three churches and one police station in Surabaya (Indonesia’s second largest city). The explosions caused many casualties," says the government in the advisory. "Further attacks are likely and could take place anywhere in the country."
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Besides cautioning Canadian travellers about terrorist threats in Indonesia, the government is also warning about crime, demonstrations and civil unrest, political and social tension, fraud and more.
However, please keep in mind that in their travel advisory, the government is not warning Canadians to completely refrain from travelling to any region in Indonesia, but to be extra cautious at all times when they are visiting the country and also to avoid non-essential travel to certain areas, such as Papua.
To read the full travel advisory about Indonesia, you can visit the Government of Canada's website.