ITF vows to help Myanmarese sailors

JAKARTA: The International Transportation Federation (ITF) has pledged to step in and help the more than 1,200 Myanmarese mariners who have been stranded in southeast Maluku regency for almost 10 years.

Indonesian Mariners Union (KPI) chairman Hanafie Rustandi said the ITF would discuss the issue at its annual Asia-Pacific meeting here on Wednesday and Thursday.

"The issue is quite serious, and we have decided to bring it to the two-day meeting to discuss further what solutions are available for the Myanmarese mariners," he said on Tuesday after accompanying senior ITF officials to make a courtesy call on manpower minister Jacob Nuwa Wea.

He said during the one-hour meeting with the minister, ITF secretary-general David Cockroft appealed to the Indonesian government to accept the presence of the illegal Myanmarese and help find a wise and humane solution to their plight. -- JP