Refugees to leave Galang Island by 1995: Official
Refugees to leave Galang Island by 1995: Official
JAKARTA (JP): A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official says he
is confident that Galang Island in the Riau archipelago will be
free from Vietnamese and Cambodian boat people by 1995.
Director of Security F. Rumayar said on Tuesday that the plan
is proceeding smoothly with the repatriation process now moving
ahead without serious obstacles.
"The plan to vacate the island is going on and the number of
boat people is dropping sharply," he said.
The government has earmarked the island, which has been used
to temporarily accommodate Indochinese boat people for the last
10 years or more, to serve as a new industrial designated zone as
part of the Batam industrial complex.
Rumayar said currently some 7,800 people wait to be
repatriated to their home counties, compared to more than 10,000
in January.
He said the authorities did not face serious problems
regarding the repatriation process, thanks in part to the
memorandum of understanding Indonesia signed with Vietnam last
year on how to deal with the problem.
Under the agreement, Vietnam agreed to take back all the
Vietnamese boat people who do not qualify as political refugees.
Rumayar said the government is working with the United
Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to process the
boat people.
He said of the 7,800 boat people now remaining on Galang, 150
were "screened" (qualified as refugees) which means they will be
entitled to resettlement in third countries. The others will have
to be sent back to their home countries.
The government has set August 1995 as a target for removing
all the boat people from Galang.
Indonesia also pushed Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh during
his recent visit here to speed-up the repatriation process.
The repatriation program has been met with strong criticism
from the boat people themselves. A Vietnamese man committed self-
immolation in May in protest against the policy. The man, Pham
Van Chau, died later in a hospital.
The suicide was part of a week-long strike by over 500
Vietnamese on Galang who demanded that they be included in the
"screened-in" criteria.
Antara reported that some of the boat people seem to enjoy
their lives on the island with many owning shops, restaurants and
even small cinemas. (par)