Govt urged to help migrant workers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Some 50 people marched to the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs and later to the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta urging
\nintervention to ensure the best legal defense for three
\nIndonesian workers facing murder charges in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
The protesters, including relatives of the three workers,
\ncalled on the government to hire top lawyers and translators to
\ndefend them in the Saudi courts.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by activists from the Women's Solidarity for Human
\nRights, they also urged the government to stop sending workers to
\nSaudi Arabia until after Riyadh signed an agreement to provide
\nlegal protection for Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
The protest outside the Saudi Embassy on Jl. M.T. Haryono,
\nEast Jakarta was emotionally charged, with a mock performance of
\nthe beheading of an Indonesian worker, symbolic of the execution
\nof 27-year old Warni in Riyadh three weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Warni, from Malang, East Java, was convicted of murdering her
\nSaudi employer by a Saudi court two years ago, but the Indonesian
\nEmbassy learned of her case only after her execution.<\/p>\n
The Women's Solidarity for Human Rights say three other
\nIndonesians could face the death sentence in Saudi Arabia unless
\nthey are given proper defense assistance.<\/p>\n
The group said Siti Zaenab from Bangkalan, Madura, had
\nconfessed to a murder charge to Madinah police last year.<\/p>\n
An Indonesian couple from Bandung, Dedi Setiady and his wife
\nPipin Handayani, have spent the past year in a detention center
\nin Mecca for the alleged murder of an Indonesian woman, Naimah.<\/p>\n
Joining the protest was Kartini, a 35-year old Indonesian maid
\nfrom Karawang, West Java, who was spared from execution by
\nstoning in United Arab Emirates in March following an eleventh
\nhour intervention by the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
She had been sentenced to death for committing adultery, an
\noffense she unknowingly confessed in court because of her
\nignorance of the law and inability to speak Arabic during the
\ntrial, which again, was not monitored by the Indonesian Embassy.<\/p>\n
After the government intervention, she was given a new trial
\nduring which she said she was raped by an Indian cook working in
\nthe same house. She has since given birth to a son.<\/p>\n
The court gave Kartini a jail term and she was sent home after
\nthe completion of her sentence last month.<\/p>\n
Tati Krisnawaty of the Woman's Solidarity for Human Rights
\nsaid Indonesia and Saudi Arabia should sign a bilateral agreement
\nregarding the protection of Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
She said the government must review all policies and
\nprocedures for protecting Indonesians sent to work abroad.<\/p>\n
Most workers would be willing to wait until such an agreement
\nhas been enacted, she said.<\/p>\n
\"The Ministry should have learned from Warni's case,\" Tati
\nsaid during a dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Head
\nof the Information Section, Sulaiman Abdul Manan.<\/p>\n
The protesters later drove from the Ministry on Jl. Pejambon,
\nCentral Jakarta, in two buses to the Saudi Embassy where they
\nmade a passionate appeal to stop further executions of Indonesian
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
They also urged the Saudi government to guarantee the
\nprotection of Indonesian workers in accordance with the
\nInternational Labor Organization Convention.<\/p>\n
The protesters were met by Mohammad Al Otaibi, the embassy's
\nfirst secretary.<\/p>\n
In spite of the embassy's pledge to cooperate, the protesters
\nwere still worried and felt hopeless in their efforts to ensure
\ngreater protection for Indonesian workers abroad.<\/p>\n
\"We will try again,\" Tati said. (07)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-urged-to-help-migrant-workers-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }