Activists urge return of RI baby from NZ

JAKARTA (JP): Two activists called on the government yesterday to bring home a stateless and nameless Indonesian baby boy who is caught in legal limbo in New Zealand.

They said the baby was an Indonesian citizen and should therefore enjoy the protection of Indonesian law.

The eight-month old baby was taken to New Zealand to be sold last year by an American woman recently convicted by a court in Auckland for masterminding a baby trafficking scheme.

The baby, named "Paul" by Auckland welfare workers and foster parents, is now in the custody of a New Zealand family. Police say they have no hope of finding his Indonesian parents due to the absence of documents and records of his origins.

Officials in Jakarta and at the Indonesian embassy in Auckland were not available to comment on the situation yesterday.

But Arist Merdeka Sirait of the Working Children's Foundation here said the government should immediately intervene and secure the return of the baby.

"This is a violation of children's rights. This baby must be returned at once," Arist told The Jakarta Post.

"If they cannot identify his parents, then he should be adopted by the state," he said, citing both the 1945 Constitution and the international convention on children.

The New Zealand family court should officially inform the Indonesian embassy of the problem so the embassy can arrange for his return, he said.

"This calls for a government-to-government approach. Indonesia should send a team of lawyers if it has to," he added.

Apong Herlina, chairwoman of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, said bringing the baby home might prove difficult in the absence of any documents and if his parents were not known.

"The parents must be found first, only then can the baby be claimed as an Indonesian citizen," she said.

She said the American woman who bought the baby should be involved in an attempt to identify his parents.

The Associated Press, citing court documents, said in a report from Auckland on Thursday that the baby was bought by 52-year-old Henriette Erika Langenback, of Elgin, Texas.

She paid US$350 for him in Indonesia.

Indonesian-born Langenbach pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in jail for selling a newborn infant to another Texan woman.

The second Texan buyer, 35-year-old Charli Shirley Connelly of Austin, Texas, and an Australian doctor allegedly involved in the transaction are still facing court proceedings.

The Indonesian baby arrived in New Zealand on another traveler's passport. He has no legal status there until it can be determined by the courts.

Langenbach had the buyer claim to be pregnant, check into an Auckland motel, then pretend to have given birth there and leave with the child.

The "birth" was registered in New Zealand, but the plan was foiled when an application was made to the U.S. Consulate for a passport for the infant.

The "birth" would have allowed baby Paul to qualify for a New Zealand passport. (byg)