Repatriation of boatpeople on target<\/p>\n
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The repatriation of all Vietnamese boatpeople
\ncurrently held on the Indonesian island of Galang is expected to
\nmeet its year-end deadline, despite the fact that over 5,000
\nboatpeople remain.<\/p>\n
Both government and United Nations officials expressed
\nconfidence yesterday that the deadline could be kept and said
\nthat, at worst, repatriation of all boatpeople would occur
\nshortly after the target date.<\/p>\n
"Recently there was another conference and it was agreed that
\nit would be completed, if not this year, then slightly into next
\nyear," Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said, referring to
\na UN conference in Geneva on the return of the boatpeople.<\/p>\n
Separately, the representative to Indonesia of the UN High
\nCommissioner for Refugees, Jean-Noel Wetterwald, told The Jakarta
\nPost yesterday that "we are optimistic we can reduce the number
\nby the target date."<\/p>\n
He said that this year alone 1,325 boatpeople had been
\nrepatriated, with an average of between 440 and 540 people being
\nsent back to Vietnam each month.<\/p>\n
Galang, located just south of Singapore, was established as a
\ntemporary shelter for Vietnamese and Cambodian boatpeople in 1975
\nand has since been home to some 248,000 boatpeople.<\/p>\n
Jakarta is now planning to develop the island as part of the
\nBarelang bonded zone area, which includes the islands of Batam,
\nRempang and Galang. For this reason the government is anxious to
\nexpedite the repatriation of the boatpeople from the island.<\/p>\n
Earlier deadlines, of December 1994 and August 1995, were
\nmoved back because of the large number of boatpeople to be
\ntransported and the slow pace of the repatriations.<\/p>\n
Wetterwald said there were about 5,300 boatpeople living on
\nGalang, of which only 60 had been "screened-in" to receive
\nrefugee status. These 60, alone, would be resettled in
\nindustrialized countries, he said.<\/p>\n
The boatpeople on Galang have been scrutinized to determine
\nwhether they left their country in search of political sanctuary,
\nand therefore qualify as refugees, or whether they are merely
\neconomic exiles.<\/p>\n
Those who are "screened-in" are resettled in a third country,
\nsuch as Canada or the United States, while those "screened-out'
\nmust return to Vietnam.<\/p>\n
"Clearly we shall settle the matter so that all those who do
\nnot receive refugee status can be returned to Vietnam," Alatas
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In April 1994, a group of "screened-out" boatpeople rioted and
\nseveral went on hunger strikes or attempted suicide to protest
\ntheir impending repatriation. Dozens had to be hospitalized and
\nat least one person died. There have been unconfirmed reports of
\nseveral other deaths.<\/p>\n
The protests coincided with the visit of Vietnamese President
\nLe Duc Anh to Jakarta. At the time there were still close to
\n9,000 boatpeople on Galang, almost all of them Vietnamese.<\/p>\n
Voluntary<\/p>\n
Although Jakarta is clearly anxious to begin development of
\nthe island, Alatas has repeatedly said that the government would
\nnot resort to forced repatriation.<\/p>\n
"We will not use force and it looks like it is already
\nworking, albeit slowly," Alatas said, citing the principle of
\nvoluntary and orderly repatriation<\/p>\n
Wetterwald confirmed that this year the situation had been
\ncalm and that "the Indonesian authorities are under control."<\/p>\n
When asked if the rioting and forced repatriations that have
\ntaken place in other camps had also occurred on Galang,
\nWetterwald replied: "Not at all, we are unlike Hong Kong."<\/p>\n
Alatas said that the lapsing of a general repatriation
\nagreement with Vietnam provided a further impetus for meeting the
\nyear-end repatriation deadline.<\/p>\n
A Comprehensive Plan of Action was formed in 1989 to help
\nexpedite the return of the boatpeople. During his visit here, Le
\nDuc Anh gave support to the arrangement by guaranteeing that the
\nboatpeople would be free from persecution upon their return.<\/p>",
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