Stateless Chinese take advantage of amnesty<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Almost 1,000 stateless Chinese in three West
\nJakarta's districts have applied for citizenship since the start
\nof an amnesty aimed at settling the status of residents who are
\nwithout documentation.<\/p>\n
The drive, which started a week ago, focuses specifically on
\nthe Chinese population who are without any formal citizenship.
\nCurrent estimates put their number in the city at well over
\n25,000.<\/p>\n
In Tamansari district, for example, some 500 of an estimated
\n5,000 stateless Chinese have registered for the citizenship
\ndocuments as of yesterday.<\/p>\n
In Tambora, where an estimated 5,500 Chinese are living
\nwithout papers, 380 have already applied for citizenship at the
\ndistrict office.<\/p>\n
In Grogol Petamburan, where there are believed to be nearly
\n1,000 unregistered, about 100 have applied for their papers.<\/p>\n
Officials in the three district offices said yesterday they
\nexpected to see more Chinese applying in the upcoming weeks. The
\ndocumentation amnesty will remain open until October.<\/p>\n
Eddy Sukirman, head of West Jakarta Social and Politic Affairs
\noffice, said last week that of the recorded 27,500 in the city
\nwho do not have citizenship, almost half of them live in the
\nmayoralty of West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
After being registered, each person who qualifies can apply
\nfor Indonesian citizenship, while the rest will be given
\ndocuments to confirm their foreign citizenship.<\/p>\n
However, naturalization is still a long way off once the
\napplication for citizenship is approved. To be naturalized, each
\nperson has to obtain more than a dozen documents, including a
\nbirth certificate, a document certifying loyalty to the nation
\nand good conduct papers.<\/p>\n
Several Chinese without documentation in the Tamansari and
\nGrogol Petamburan districts were interviewed by The Jakarta Post.
\nThey said they had wanted to apply for citizenship for a long
\ntime. However, they said that they were unable to do so because,
\nin the past, they would have had to pay more than Rp 1 million
\njust to apply for citizenship.<\/p>\n
T.M. Pardede, head of the assimilation agency at the
\nDirectorate General of Social and Politic Affairs of the Ministry
\nof Home Affairs, said last week that registration was free of
\ncharge.<\/p>\n
Pardede asked the stateless Chinese who have already
\nregistered to tell two friends each about the registration.<\/p>\n
The ongoing registration covers all stateless Chinese,
\nincluding those who have lived here for one generation but have
\nnot yet been naturalized, as well as those classified as \"post -
\nPP 10\/1959.\"<\/p>\n
The PP 10\/1959 is a government regulation issued in 1959,
\nrequiring all ethnic Chinese to choose either Chinese or
\nIndonesian citizenship.<\/p>\n
The people of Chinese descent who are considered stateless are
\nthose who do not have either Chinese or Indonesian citizenship.
\nThe suspension of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic
\nof China and Indonesia, in the wake of the 1965 aborted communist
\ncoup, made it impossible for Chinese residents to apply for
\nChinese citizenship. However, ties with China were restored in
\n1990. (11)<\/p>",
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