Over 150,000 flee abroad during riots: Ministry

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)