Over 150,000 flee abroad during riots: Ministry

JAKARTA (JP): More than 150,000 Indonesians and foreigners fled the country during last month's riots which led to the downfall of Soeharto, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Pranowo, the director general of immigration, told a media briefing yesterday that 152,363 Indonesians and foreigners from at least 47 countries left the country from May 14 to May 20.

In a report made available to the press, the ministry said that 70,837 Indonesians and 81,526 foreigners left the country from airports and seaports in Java, Bali and Sumatra.

They were Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, Adisumarmo airport in the Central Java town of Surakarta, Juanda airport in Surabaya in East Java, Ngurah Rai airport in Bali, Polonia airport and Belawan seaport in Medan, and Batam and Tanjung Pinang in Riau.

The report said that most -- 67,299 people -- left the country from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, 20 kilometers west of Jakarta.

"The number of people leaving the country from Soekarno-Hatta peaked on May 19, namely 17,212 people," the report said.

The report said that of the 4,039 people who left the country from Halim Perdanakusuma from May 14 to May 18, the three largest groups were Americans, French and Malaysians.

Pranowo also said that from May 23 to May 26, 51,160 Indonesians and foreigners arrived in the country.

They were 27,616 Indonesian citizens and 23,544 foreigners.

Pranowo did not say whether these people were the same as those who left the country some days earlier.

As reported earlier, foreign airlines were even forced to beef up their Indonesian services due to the sudden passenger upsurge.

Many foreign governments were also forced to charter dozens of special flights to fly their respective citizens out of the country.

Minister of Justice Muladi expressed concern that Indonesians of Chinese descent -- accounting for only 4 percent of the country's 202 million population -- were always targeted during riots.

He said that the ministry has also received hundreds of complaints from citizens of Chinese descent about their lost or burned personal documents, such as passports and proof of citizenship, due the riots.

Muladi said he had instructed ministry staff throughout the country to facilitate the replacement of these people's documents.

"There will not be any additional charges," Muladi promised, adding he would not hesitate to take action against ministry officials who took advantage of the situation by extorting money from those who were in applying for the documents.

The National Commission on Human Rights said last week that at least 1,188 people died in the riots with thousands of shops, vehicles and private homes being attacked, burned or looted.

It also said that much of violence had been the work of "well- organized group who started the rioting and burning". (byg)