Number of refugees reaches 640,000
JAKARTA (JP): As of mid-November, almost 640,000 displaced people were still in refugee centers built in eight provinces across the country, Minister of Home Affairs Surjadi Soedirdja said on Tuesday.
Speaking during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission II for home affairs, Surjadi said the refugees could not return home due to security concerns.
"They are afraid of disturbances waged by armed civilian groups," Surjadi said.
The refuge camps are located in East Nusa Tenggara, Aceh, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi, South Sulawesi and East Java.
Violence has jolted many parts of the country this year, dating back to January when sectarian clashes first exploded in Maluku. Thousands fled their homes for safety either in other islands in the province or the neighboring provinces of South Sulawesi and North Sulawesi.
East Nusa Tenggara became a home to over 260,000 East Timorese who began to trickle in after the Aug. 30 self-determination ballot in the former Portuguese colony. The exodus peaked following rampaging violence reportedly perpetrated by pro- Jakarta militias.
The United Nations Commissioner for Refugees reported on Tuesday that 117,000 East Timorese refugees had returned to their homeland.
Surjadi said all the displaced people still sheltering in refugee camps across the country fell under the supervision of the office of the coordinating minister for people's welfare and poverty eradication.
Legislator Panda Nababan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) suggested that in addition to food aid, the government should also provide the refugees with training in several fields of work.
Asked about the armed civilians whom he had blamed for causing security disturbances, especially in Aceh, Surjadi said the possession of arms by civilians was against both the law and universal rulings.
"The security authorities have to disarm those civilians," the minister said.
On the Maluku issue, Surjadi said the situation in the province was improving after local community leaders demanded that the government should immediately reconstruct damaged residential areas in the province.
Hundreds of people have been killed during the conflict between Muslims and Christians in Maluku since earlier this year.
President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri visited Ambon, the capital of Maluku, on Sunday in an effort to end the communal clashes.
Donations
Meanwhile, on the North Sulawesi island of Bitung, Megawati Soekarnoputri handed over 400 boxes of clothes to refugees from Ternate and Tidore, North Maluku on Tuesday.
Megawati and her entourage, accompanied by Governor E.E. Mangindaan, visited a refugee shelter which was set up by a rattan processing company, PT Mega Belia.
She said the donations came from people in Jakarta who were concerned about the adversities the refugees were suffering.
Megawati urged the refugees should try to solve their problems by themselves, saying that it was the best way for the refugees.
"No one can change our fate except ourselves. Other people can only give hope and support," she was quoted by Antara as saying.
She called on the refugees to hold on and maintain their hope for a better future.
During her visit, Megawati was accompanied by her husband Taufik Kiemas, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Basri Hasanuddin, Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Admiral Widodo Adisucipto.
Mangindaan said the number of refugees from Ternate and Tidore had reached 13,508 as of mid-November.
He said the refugees were farmers, fishermen, workers, paramedics, teachers, civil servants and police officers and their families.
Most of the refugees were natives of North Sulawesi, according to the governor. They were sheltered in their relatives' houses in Bitung, Manado, Minahasa and Sangihe Talaud, he said.
He said he had received Rp 313 million and 108 tons of rice which was donated by the now-defunct Ministry of Social Affairs and private timber firm PT Barito Pacific. (jun)