Empowering RI fishermen

One of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's strategies and agenda items for his Cabinet is to develop a sustainable socio- political system that constitutes a foundation for achieving a secure, peaceful, just, democratic and welfare society.

In order to develop this system, there has to be, I think, an empowerment of the lowest strata of people, especially farmers and fishermen, whose lives have never improved over the past 60 years since our independence in 1945. Those two sections of society, despite the great potential of the country, remain impoverished.

The recent catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that claimed well over 200,000 lives in Aceh and parts of North Sumatra caused a great deal of suffering to most Acehnese, including fishermen and their families. Their belongings, especially the ships, nets, etc. they use to make a living, all disappeared or were badly damaged.

Worldwide reaction to the disaster was tremendously overwhelming, with all kinds of donations and contributions pouring in, including billions of dollars in pledged donations.

Among the pledged contributions was one from the European Union (EU), which offered to provide fishing vessels to fishermen willing to set up joint ventures with fishermen from the EU who would assist them in operating the vessels. They are expected to be employed in the joint ventures and at the same time receive transfers of advanced fishing technology (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 4).

Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Freddy Numberi plans to expand the country's fishery industry and invite in more foreign investors, but unfortunately stopped short of offering plans to empower the human resources involved in the industry, namely the fishermen themselves.

The EU's offer of vessels and technology transfers has so far been responded to by the government, to the extent that it said the grant proposal should be an integrated package that leads to Indonesian fish being accepted in European market (the Post, Feb. 8).

As this is one of the most concrete forms of contributions to empower Acehnese fishermen, and at a later date all other Indonesian fishermen, if the joint venture succeeds, people may expect -- during the five-year term of President Susilo -- to no longer see Chinese, Thai, Filipino and other foreign vessels roaming our waters and illegally catching our fish.

M. RUSDI, Jakarta