Maluku government denies entry to 67 foreigners

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least 67 foreigners have been denied entry to the conflict- ridden province of Maluku since the civilian emergency authorities there imposed a travel ban on non-Indonesians last April, a local government officer said on Saturday.

Head of the Ambon immigration office Wiryono did not explain why the 67 foreigners were prohibited from visiting Maluku, saying most of them tried to come as tourists holding valid passports.

However he told the Antara news agency that despite the ban, at least 418 others from numerous countries were allowed to enter Maluku as they had obtained special permission from the authorities.

Most of the foreigners permitted to enter Maluku were those working for fishing companies there and activists of non- governmental organizations helping provide humanitarian assistance for victims of violence in the troubled province, Wiryono added.

He explained that the fishing companies and the non- governmental organizations in question had submitted applications to the civilian emergency authorities for permission for their respective foreign workers to visit.

Wiryono said as many as 50 foreigners tried to come to Maluku in April but 23 of them were denied entry, and in May, at least four out of 41 visitors were denied entry.

In June, around 45 foreigners came but four of them were denied entry, while in July, 21 others arrived but four of them were denied entry. In August another three of the 54 arriving foreigners were also asked to leave Ambon.

In September, at least 56 others came but only one of them was rejected. In October, also one of the 76 visitors was told to leave, while in November, 27 others arrived but nine of them were also ordered to leave.

This month, nine of 27 foreigners who visited Maluku were denied entry.

As chief of the civilian emergency authority, Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina issued the travel ban last April on foreigners from entering the province as part of efforts to restore security there following a peace deal in December 2001.

Foreign journalists are also included in the ban.

"As long as the ban is in force, the Ambon immigration office will continue carrying out its supervisory duties in line with instructions from the authorities," Wiryono said.

"Supervision has improved at the entry points across the province," he added.

Maluku has seen three years of intermittent sectarian fighting between Muslims and Christians since January 1999, which has claimed the lives of some 6,000 people.

The peace accord, which was signed by Muslim and Christian leaders in December last year, has significantly reduced the conflicts. However, renewed violence has broken out sporadically across Ambon since then.