Ministry to reregister refugees

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