Metro TV and TV One stations relied on the live broadcast of Al Jazeera to enable the Indonesian public to watch the historic moment of the wind of change in Egypt.
Outgoing President Mubarak and his family were reported to have left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh amid protests of Egyptian people.
With regard to the country`s political turmoil that had reportedly claimed more than a hundred lives, the Indonesian government had conducted a temporary evacuation of its people from Egypt.
Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Kusuma said here Friday that the government was to undertake the large-scale evacuation of Indonesian citizens from Egypt after it had received the assessment of the situation there by a special task force that was currently in that Middle Eastern country.
"The chief of the task force, Nur Hassan Wirajuda, will return home with the sixth batch of evacuees on Friday at 10.30 west Indonesian time (WIB)," Kusuma said at a press conference.
In response to the Indonesian government`s temporary evacuation policy, the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University Prof.Dr.Ahmed Al-Tayeb deplored it due to the fact that Indonesian students` safety had been guaranteed.
"Why must they be returned?" Prof.Dr.Ahmed Al-Tayeb asked at his meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s special envoy, Dr.Nur Hassan Wirajuda in Cairo last Wednesday.
He told Wirajuda who paid a courtesy call on him along with Indonesian Ambassador to Cairo A.M. Fachir that the safety and security of Indonesian students were guaranteed by the University.
In response to the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar University`s deep concern, Wirajuda said the Indonesian government`s temporary evacuation policy was purely motivated by security reasons.
The security consideration and protection of Indonesian citizens were the only reasons for Jakarta to conduct a "temporary evacuation", he said adding that the students would be flown back for Egypt soon after the emergency situation in Cairo had ended.
"The Indonesian government does not send its students home but temporarily evacuates them as a result of emergency situation in Egypt. If the situation has returned to normal, they will return to Cairo to continue their study," he said.
The total number of Indonesians studying at Al Azhar University is currently 3,523 people. They study in undergraduate, master and PhD programs.
Egypt has been rocked by a deadly political instability over the past 18 days in which tens of thousands of Egyptians demand for Mubarak`s resignation. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
