Indonesia deports 252 Chinese sailors

Indonesia deports 252 Chinese sailors

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian immigration officials made history
yesterday when they deported 252 Chinese sailors, the largest
single deportation ever conducted.

"This is definitely the biggest ever deportation that
Indonesia's immigration directorate has ever undertaken," said
Zaiman Nurmatias, director of supervision and law enforcement at
the Directorate General of Immigration.

Zaiman personally saw off the illegal Chinese immigrants
yesterday at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. They were
flown back to China aboard Garuda Indonesia flight GA-812.

Prior to their departure, Zaiman and a representative from the
Chinese Embassy, Liu Yonggu, signed letters to signify the
official exchange of the immigrants.

The 252 were part of a group of 301 sailors caught on Feb. 12
for illegally entering Indonesian waters near central Maluku
using 16 ships.

They were flying an Indonesian flag but were caught without
sufficient papers by a Navy patrol in Tual, Maluku.

Forty-nine, including the captains, were being detained so
they could be brought to court in Ambon, while the rest were
brought to Jakarta for yesterday's deportation.

Head of the deportation team, Azral, was quoted by Antara as
saying that the cost of the deportation would be paid for by PT
Caturbina Duta Pertamina, the company supposedly responsible for
bringing them here, and the Chinese Embassy.

The deportation caught the attention of many at the airport
yesterday as the immigrants arrived in 10 military trucks.

As they were escorted to Terminal E, dozens of security
officers kept a watchful eye.

The deportation proceeded very smoothly without any incident.
(mds)