RI begins clearing Galang of boat people
RI begins clearing Galang of boat people
JAKARTA (JP): The military will repatriate 200 Indochinese
boat people from Galang Island by sea tomorrow in a new drive to
clear the island of all remaining Vietnamese and Cambodians who
have overstayed their welcomes.
In all, 4,308 Vietnamese and 320 Cambodians will be
repatriated by the end of the month, Armed Forces Chief of
General Affairs Lt. Gen. Soeyono told reporters yesterday.
The government has hoped to turn the island -- which has
accommodated more than 248,000 people since the first wave of
boat people came in the mid-1970s -- into an industrial zone. The
presence of the boat people repeatedly put the plan on hold.
"We can no longer delay the development program," Soeyono
said.
The 4,000 or so boat people still on the island failed to gain
refugee status, which would have given them tickets to a new life
and homes in industrialized countries.
Hanoi has agreed to take them back, but -- in spite of
assurances that they would not be persecuted -- many boat people
have refused to return. On Tuesday, more than 200 Vietnamese
migrants voluntarily left Galang island on board Vietnamese
planes.
Soeyono promised that Indonesia would avoid using force in
boarding the boat people onto the ships that would take them
home.
The boat people will be shipped on board the Navy's tank-
landing ships, each of which could accommodate 200 people, he
said. He added that the trip from Galang to Ho Chi Minh City
would take between three to four days.
Soeyono said the operation is being launched in view of a June
30 deadline agreed on during the meeting of the steering
committee of the Comprehensive Plan of Action of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, in March.
The plan of action was formulated in 1989 to help expedite the
return of the boat people from various refugee processing centers
in Asia, including Indonesia.
The UNHCR said that it would bear the repatriation costs.
Vietnamese boat people in other Asian countries, including
Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, are also being sent home
in increasing numbers.
The UNHCR said last month that about 40,000 Indochinese
refugees remain in camps throughout the region, at least half of
them in Hong Kong.
Indonesia, along with other Asian recipient countries, had
earlier hoped that the remaining boat people from Vietnam and
Cambodia would return to their respective homes under voluntary
repatriation programs. (imn)