RI houses 883 illegal immigrants
RI houses 883 illegal immigrants
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is housing 883 illegal immigrants who
entered the country without proper documents, an official said on
Friday.
The spokesman to the directorate general of immigration,
Mursanuddin A. Ghani, said the 883 immigrants, mostly from the
Middle East, were being kept at immigration quarantines
nationwide, including in Tanjung Balai Asahan and Pematang
Siantar in North Sumatra; Jakarta; Cisarua in West Java; Mataram
in West Nusa Tenggara; and Merauke in Irian Jaya.
"And 386 of the 883 immigrants have received refugee status
issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,"
Ghani told The Jakarta Post by phone.
He said 357 of these 386 immigrants were from Iraq, four were
from Iran, two from Saudi Arabia, five from Pakistan, 16 from
Afghanistan, one from Liberia and another one from Bahrain.
Ghani said the UNHCR was now processing requests from another
368 illegal immigrants seeking refugee status, while the status
of the remaining 129 illegal immigrants remained unclear.
He said most of the illegal immigrants were heading to
Australia when they were detained by immigration officials. Their
vessels had been grounded along the southern coast of Java after
either being caught in heavy storms, suffering engine trouble or
running out of fuel.
"Officials took them to the quarantines while waiting for the
UNHCR to process their status and find any third countries
willing to house them," Ghani said.
No UNHCR representatives here were available for comment on
Friday.
Reuters reported earlier this week up to 163 boat people en
route to Australia from Indonesia were believed to have drowned
when their two vessels sank in stormy seas. Their nationalities
were not known.
The boats were believed to have left Indonesia last week and
were expected to have arrived at Ashmore island, Australia. The
240-kilometer sea crossing to Australia from Timor island
typically takes two to three days.
More than 250 suspected illegal immigrants were feared drowned
last April after three boats went missing between Indonesia and
Australia in stormy weather.
The Australian government estimates one-third of boats
attempting to bring people illegally to Australia are lost at
sea.
Australian Minister of Immigration Philip Ruddock said on
Wednesday about 1,000 illegal immigrants had arrived in Australia
by boat since July 1 -- about half the rate of the previous
fiscal year. More than 4,000 boat people arrived illegally in
Australia in the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2000. (01)