Refugee problem to be settled

Refugee problem to be settled

JAKARTA: Vice President Hamzah Haz hopes that refugee problems can be settled by the end of next year, according to Abdul Jalil AS, head of the National Commission on National Reconciliation, Repatriation and Advocacy.

Abdul Jalil said, after meeting with Hamzah on Thursday, that what was meant by "settlement" of the refugees was when all of them had already returned to their hometowns or had resettled in new areas without any conflict taking place.

In a bid to achieve the target, local communities would be encouraged to accept arrivals of their fellow countrymen from other ethnic groups, he said.

Abdul Jalil quoted Hamzah as saying that by way of compensation the government would build some public facilities, mainly hospitals.

Abdul Jalil explained that during the meeting he had also explained his commission's plan to hold a congress of ethnic groups at the Haj dormitory in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, from Nov. 9 to Nov. 11. -- Antara