Govt Overwhelmed by Surge of Illegal Immigrant
22 December 2014 10:50 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Pekanbaru – Yasonna H. Laoly, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, said the government is overwhelmed with the flow of illegal immigrants. For humanitarian reasons, the Indonesian government is forced to accommodate the immigrants pending deportation proceedings by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
When visiting the Pekanbaru Immigration Office yesterday, Yasonna saw firsthand how immigrants from the Middle East filled the place, with some of them accommodated in corridors.
Yasonna said there are currently 10,000 immigrants in Indonesia. All of their need is being supplied by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UNHCR, and the government.
"They do not want to be repatriated to their conflict-ridden homelands," he said.
The minister said the government plans to provide a land for the immigrants land in an island in East Nusa Tenggara, a discourse that still needs further study.
Meanwhile, the people of Tanjung Batu, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan, asked the government to deport 678 fishermen from Malaysia and the Philippines who entered Indonesia illegally. Head of Tanjung Batu village Jorjis said that the fishermen stole fish and marine biotas that are protected in Indonesian waters.
RIYAN NOFITRA | ANT
