MP urges government to repatriate 13 crew members evacuated from Iran

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Syamsu Rizal, a member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), has urged the government to immediately repatriate 13 crew members who remain stranded in Baku, Azerbaijan, after previously being evacuated from Iran due to the war situation in the Middle East. Known as Ical, Syamsu Rizal has called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) to take swift and concrete steps to bring back the crew members. “We cannot allow Indonesian citizens to be left hanging in a foreign country without certainty. The state must be present and provide maximum protection,” he said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday. He noted that although the crew members have left the conflict zone, they now face new problems, ranging from legal uncertainties, logistical limitations, to delays in the repatriation process to the homeland. He stressed that the repatriation process must not be hindered by protracted administrative issues. According to him, the safety and certainty of the fate of citizens must be the government’s top priority. In addition, he hopes that Kemenlu and the Ambassador will immediately coordinate various repatriation possibilities, including coordination with several strategic countries, especially Turkey. He also asked the TNI Commander to instruct the nearest defence attaché to create a strategic repatriation plan. “Do not let any of our citizens be neglected due to slow responses. This is a matter of state responsibility,” he said. Furthermore, the legislator from the commission handling foreign affairs asked the government to bear all the costs of repatriating the crew members, given their current emergency situation. “They have successfully exited the conflict zone, but that does not mean their problems are over. The government must ensure they can return to Indonesia safely and without additional burdens,” he said.