RI moves to stop people smuggling

RI moves to stop people smuggling

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Overwhelmed by a flood of illegal migrants, the Indonesian
government, in cooperation with Australian authorities, will
develop a regional plan of action to tackle the problem, which is
believed to involve well-organized transnational crime
syndicates.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Thursday
that people smuggling and trafficking and other transnational
crimes, including drug trafficking and money laundering, had
become major concerns for the international community.

"Bilateral cooperation is not enough ... a comprehensive
approach is needed involving all countries relating to the
source, the transit points and the destination countries involved
in illegal migration," Wirayuda said.

Speaking at the opening of a meeting called to lay the
groundwork for a Regional Ministerial Conference on people
smuggling in Bali next month, Wirayuda said such global efforts
were indispensable in deterring "the activity that involved so
many people and billions of dollars of business."

Thursday's meeting was attended by representatives of 37
countries, mainly from the Asia-Pacific region, as well as others
including Iran, Iraq, Syria and Jordan, with the European Union
and the United States taking part as observers.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) were also in
attendance and will participate in the ministerial conference, to
be held in Bali on Feb. 27 and 28.

Indonesia has become a busy transit point for, as of last
year, no less than 3,526 illegal migrants, mostly from strife-
torn Middle Eastern countries and Afghanistan, who have been
trying to reach Australia or New Zealand.

Australian co-chair Geoff Raby said that the meeting would
recommend concrete practical steps "to make the region more
secure against illegal migration."

His Indonesian counterpart Marty M. Natalegawa added that the
dialog was also aimed at finding common ground on the issue so
that there would be no more negative reactions should one country
fail to resettle illegal migrants.

Wirayuda said the upcoming conference would be part of the
process of reconciliation between Indonesia and Australia,
highlighted by Australian Prime Minister John Howard's first
official trip to Jakarta from Feb. 6 to 8.