670 deported for violating immigration rules
670 deported for violating immigration rules
JAKARTA (JP): A total of 670 foreigners have been deported
from Indonesia for violating immigration regulations up until
November this year, an official said on Monday.
Spokesman for the Directorate-general of Immigration
Mursanuddin A. Ghani said that those who had been deported mostly
came from Middle East countries such as Iraq, Iran and
Afghanistan.
"Most of the foreigners had overstayed, violated their entry
permits or their refugee status," Ghani told The Jakarta Post.
He said the number of deported foreigners this year is 12.5
percent higher than the same period last year, when 596
foreigners were deported.
The immigration office noted an increasing trend of foreigners
being deported in the past few years, citing that 440 foreigners
were deported in 1997, 336 in 1998, 596 in 1999 and 670 this
year.
"The increasing trend of foreigners being deported is probably
a result of the government's policy of being more open to
tourists and granting more facilities to foreigners intending to
visit the country," Muhammad Indra, Director of Immigration
Supervision and Operation, said in a statement earlier this
month.
The facilities offered to the visiting foreigners, he said,
were in the form of loose regulations for tourists and
prospective investors.
"However, such facilities have resulted in more violations,
which had not been anticipated," Indra said.
He said that the increasing trend also was connected with the
fact Indonesia has been used as a transit point for those wishing
to travel to a third country, particularly Australia.
The immigration office has noted a trend in which foreigners
would depart for Australia using small vessels from Indonesian
harbors, such as Tanjung Balai Asahan and Pematang Siantar in
North Sumatra, Pelabuhan Ratu in West Java, Cilacap in Central
Java, Kupang and Maumere in East Nusa Tenggara and Merauke in
Irian Jaya.
Indra added that these illegal immigrants often forged
Indonesian immigration documents before leaving the country.
Ghani earlier told The Jakarta Post that as of November this
year Indonesia has been housing 883 illegal immigrants who
entered the country without proper documents.
He said the 883 immigrants, mostly from Middle East countries,
were being kept at Immigration quarantine facilities nationwide.
"386 out of the 883 immigrants have just received refugee
status issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR)," he said.
The spokesman said 357 of the 386 immigrants were from Iraq,
16 from Afghanistan, five from Pakistan, four from Iran, two from
Saudi Arabia, one from Liberia and one from Bahrain.
The UNHCR is now processing requests from 368 illegal
immigrants seeking refugee status, while the status of the
remaining 129 illegal immigrants remains unclear. (01)