Priest barred from traveling overseas

Priest barred from traveling overseas

JAKARTA (JP): Immigration officials yesterday barred Jesuit
Catholic priest Ignatius Sandyawan Sumardi, previously cleared of
charges of harboring leftist activists wanted by police, from
traveling to Perth, Australia for eye surgery.

The priest's legal counsel, Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, said
Father Sandyawan was scheduled to undergo surgery today.

Sandyawan, better known as Romo (father) Sandy, was told at
the Soekarno-Hatta airport by an immigration official named
Firman that he could not leave.

The travel ban was slapped on Sandyawan on the order of Armed
Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung, Luhut said.

The lawyer said that 38-year-old Sandyawan had never received
a written notice of the ban, as stipulated by the immigration
laws.

"I need clarification from the Armed Forces chief about the
travel ban imposed on my client, who needs eye surgery because of
an injury sustained during a motorcycle accident," he said.

Sandyawan was previously accused of harboring activists of the
unrecognized Democratic People's Party, wanted by the police last
year for allegedly masterminding the July 27 riots.

Sandyawan leads an organization which actively helps street
children, workers and poor people caught in land disputes. (01)