TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Thousands of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) burned the Indonesian Consulate General building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday. The arson was committed by a mass of workers who demanded their working status to be legalized. Some of them threw rocks before setting the building ablaze.
Several were wounded but the authorities have yet to confirm detailed reports of the injured. "We are still checking if there is any casualty or how many workers were injured," said Indonesian Ambassador for Saudi Arabia, Gatot Abdullah Mansyur to Arab News on Sunday.
Armed police are still guarding the location of the riots. Routes heading to the consulate office, which are still burning until 21.00 local time, are closed.
Previous day, it was reported that some of the authorities dealt the demonstrating workers with violent conduct. It angered the mob further. "Yesterday (Saturday) I was wounded as the consulate doesn't know how to handle the mass." Said an Indonesian worker without disclosing his name. At least three women were injured because of the action.
The workers were worried with their "illegal" status, as it would be a matter of time before the Kingdom sentenced them with fines up to 100,000 riyals or imprisoned up to two years.
The Indonesian diplomatic missions are among those swamped with undocumented nationals trying to meet the July 3 deadline set by the host government for "illegals" to rectify their visa status.
ARABNEWS | ANDI PERDANA
