Govt vows to resolve refugee issue
Govt vows to resolve refugee issue
MANADO, North Sulawesi: The government has vowed to resolve
the country's internal refugee problems by August this year at
the latest.
Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsjah said in Manado,
North Sulawesi on Sunday that his ministry would look at several
possibilities, including sending refugees home or giving job
training so that they could make a living themselves.
The minister said that each refugee would receive one lump sum
payment.
He said the Ministry of Social Affairs had budgeted around Rp
700 billion (US$78.6 million) for the more than 500,000 refugees
from several conflict areas such as Maluku and Poso in Central
Sulawesi. --Antara
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Confusion over citizenship status
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Confusion over citizenship status
ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara: The Atambua District Court is
planning to ask the government to clarify the citizenship status
of former East Timorese refugees in the regency.
Court head Julius Viktor Rahardjo said Sunday that it would
ask the regent of Belu and the foreign ministry to determine the
refugee's citizenship status.
He said confusion about citizenship could lead to difficulties
in court rulings.
"If someone claims they are a citizen of East Timor after
committing a crime, it would be hard to process as we have no any
extradition agreement with East Timor yet," he said.
Viktor also said that it would also be unfair to sentence a
person without knowing their citizenship status.
Viktor said he believed that refugees from East Timor who
refused to return home should be given Indonesian citizenship.
The refugee status lapsed on Dec. 31, 2002. Foreign Minister
Hassan Wirayuda said earlier that the refugees would
automatically become Indonesians if they chose to stay in
Indonesia after the deadline lapsed. -- Antara
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Local govts must abide by revoked law
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Local govts must abide by revoked law
BANDAR LAMPUNG: The Ministry of Home Affairs wants local
governments to comply with a presidential decree relating to a
local government's authority to approve their regional budgets.
"Presidential Decree No. 110 was revoked by the Supreme Court,
however, the President has not approved it. Therefore we should
still abide by the decree when determining regional budgets,"
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said Sunday.
However, the President can not overturn decisions made by
Indonesia's highest court.
Several regional governments have complained about a telegram
sent by the ministry early this month, saying that regional
budgets must comply with the decree.
The Minister said that although legislative councils could
approve their budgets, certain steps outlined in the decree must
be followed to avoid the misuse of funds. --Antara
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Quake victims afraid to go home
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Quake victims afraid to go home
JAKARTA: Hundreds of villagers from Sampora and Caracas in the
regency of Kuningan slept in the open over the weekend amid fears
of more aftershocks following last Friday's earthquake which
measured 4.8 on the Richter scale.
No casualties were reported but people chose to pitch make-
shift tents rather than return home. Others left the villages to
live with relatives or friends.
On Saturday, residents began the clean-up in Caracas, where
three houses were destroyed and 12 others damaged.
Kuningan regent Arifin Setiamiharja promised cement to help
the people rebuild. - Antara