Government won't arrest Aceh asylum seekers: Susilo<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government guaranteed on Thursday that it would not arrest
\ntwo Acehnese students who are now at large after their request
\nfor asylum was rejected by the Finnish government and the United
\nNations High Commissioner for Refugees.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the two men, Ermiadi and Nasruddin
\nSyah, had left the UNHCR representative office here voluntarily
\non Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
\"The two men are somewhere outside and we expect that nobody
\nwill engineer any kind of move that might be used to insinuate
\ntheir security is in jeopardy. Our police will ensure that no
\nthreats are made against them,\" Susilo said after a Cabinet
\nmeeting at the State Secretariat.<\/p>\n
The two men, members of the Aceh-Sumatra National Liberation
\nFront (ASNLF), slipped into the Finnish Embassy on Wednesday.
\nAfter that, they were brought to the UNHCR offices to formally
\nrequest asylum on the grounds that their lives were in danger
\nfrom the Indonesian Military.<\/p>\n
Their requests for asylum were denied as both the Finnish
\ngovernment and the UNHCR considered that the two had failed to
\nfulfill the requirements for refugee status.<\/p>\n
Susilo insisted, however, that it was unfair to expect the
\npolice to ensure the safety of the Acehnese as they had failed to
\ninform the police of their whereabouts.<\/p>\n
\"To be fair, if somebody asks the police for protection and he
\nor she fails to let the police know of his or her whereabouts,
\nhow can we provide protection. So, we expect nobody to circulate
\nstories that their lives are in danger,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Also after the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs
\nHassan Wirayuda said that his ministry had received reports that
\nthe police did not feel any urgent need to detain or question the
\ntwo asylum seekers.<\/p>\n
\"My ministry has queried whether there was any urgent need for
\nthe police to question them and the police said definitely that
\nthere was no need to do so. After midnight, they left the (UNHCR)
\nbuilding,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
He said the police had asked the Acehnese to leave the UNHCR
\nbuilding on Thursday morning for security reasons, but the two
\ninsisted on leaving on Wednesday evening. The police then drove
\nthem to meet their relatives.<\/p>\n
\"We feel that the there was some kind of a premeditated action
\ninvolved here as many journalists were already there before it
\nhappened. We would like to thank the Finnish government and the
\nUNHCR for their stance in the matter,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
He said the incident should teach people a lesson that it was
\nnot that easy to seek asylum from other countries as there were
\nrequirements that had to be met first.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-wont-arrest-aceh-asylum-seekers-susilo-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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