Officials say RI haven for illegal immigrants

Officials say RI haven for illegal immigrants

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta

A preliminary investigation indicates that Indonesia is a safe
haven for illegal immigrants who could pose a serious threat to
national interests.

The investigation, recently conducted by a team from the
Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, found a number of
foreigners in Jakarta and its outskirts who used fake permits to
stay in the country and conduct their activities uncontrolled.

"Sidney Jones was only one of numerous foreigners abusing
their stay permits in Indonesia. Our team is still coordinating
with the relevant authorities, including the National
Intelligence Agency (BIN), the National Police and the
Immigration Office, to deport them," Director General for Labor
Standards and Development Maruddin S.M. Simanihuruk told The
Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Jones, the director of the International Crisis Group in
Southeast Asia, was deported because she was allegedly abusing
her stay permit.

Her frequent trips to conflict areas in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam and Papua violated her permit, which allowed Jones to
work in Jakarta as a trainer, Simanihuruk said.

The expulsion of Jones has been criticized by rights activists
and prodemocracy figures, who say the move resembled the
practices of the authoritarian New Order regime. Analysts have
said Jones' deportation could backfire on President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, who is seeking a full five-year mandate in the
July 5 presidential election.

Simanihuruk said the authorities would not stop with Jones,
and many other foreigners staying illegally in the country would
be deported.

He said those foreigners targeted for deportation included a
Norwegian who used a fake permit to work in Jakarta, six
Nigerians employed at a garment kiosk in the Tanah Abang shopping
center without work permits and five others -- an Australian, two
Filipinos and a Briton -- who did not have stay or work permits.

"Some of them have been involved in territorial surveillance
and surveys, two activities that should be conducted only by
government agencies," he said, adding that his office had
officially reported the cases to the BIN and other security
authorities.

Simanihuruk said that despite a decline in the number of
documented expatriates in the country, the real number of
foreigners working here was probably higher because many
foreigners were believed to be here illegally.

"The number of expatriates registered by the ministry went
down to about 19,000 in 2003 from 50,000 in 2000 and 78,000 in
1996, but many expatriates living in Kemang, South Jakarta, and
those employed at entertainment centers in Jakarta's downtown do
not have stay permits," he said, adding that this was also
probably the case in Batam, Riau, Bali, Yogyakarta and Surabaya.

He acknowledged that the relevant authorities lacked
coordination in monitoring the presence of foreigners, including
suspected terrorists, in the country.

He said that in addition to the two Malaysian terrorist
suspects Dr. Azahari and Noordin Moch. Top, the alleged
masterminds of the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta last
August, many other foreigners who were members of the Jamaah
Islamiyah terrorist group were believed to have operated in
Indonesia undetected.