Ministry to reregister refugees

MANADO, North Sulawesi: The ministry of social affairs was currently reregistering refugees across the country, Ministry of Social Affairs secretary general Ruchodi said Wednesday.

"The number of refugees varies, hence the need for reregistration," Antara quoted Ruchadi as saying in Manado, North Sulawesi.

The government allocated Rp 700 billion (US$82 million) for refugees across the country in 2003.

Citing refugees in Medan, North Sumatra, as an example, Ruchodi said their number rose from 11,000 to 12,000 every time the government handed over food and financial assistance.

Most refugees in Medan had fled the violence in war-torn Aceh province.

"Should there be refugees registering twice using different identification cards, they have to be reported to police," Ruchodi said.

The number of refugees increased by more than one million in 1999 following ethnic and religious conflicts in West Kalimantan, Poso in Central Sulawesi, and Ambon in Maluku, as well as the bloody rampage in Indonesia's former province of East Timor. --Antara