RI workers still safe in Mideast, says govt

RI workers still safe in Mideast, says govt

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As many as 1.5 million workers employed in Middle Eastern
countries should remain safe should the United States and its
allies lauch an attack on Iraq as Indonesia, besides preparing a
contingency plan, has gained assurances on their safety from host
countries in the region.

Indonesian missions in Middle Eastern countries, including
Iraq, are on high alert as the dispute between Iraq and the
United States heats up, while Indonesian diplomats have
intensified their lobbying of host countries in the region to
provide protection for Indonesian citizens living there.

Marti Natalegawa, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, said Indonesian missions in the region had been
preparing for the worst case scenario should a second Gulf war
erupt in the near future.

"So far, the situation in the region remains conducive and our
embassies there, including in Iraq, are continuing to carry out
their day-to-day duties.

"Besides having gained assurances from the host countries
where millions of Indonesian citizens are studying or working, we
have prepared a contingency plan on what to do if Indonesian
citizens, including workers, find themselves in emergencies," he
told The Jakarta Post by telephone here on Wednesday.

The situation is escalating in the Middle East as the United
States continues deploying equipment and manpower in strength to
the region. U.S. administration officials have said that despite
the UN inspection team's report to the Security Council, the
United States would launch an attack on Iraq either with its
allies or alone.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea
concurred with Marti and said the government was monitoring
developments on a day-to-day basis in the region so as to
safeguard all Indonesian interests there.

"We are continuing to give priority to the safety of
Indonesian citizens in the region but we should consider other
factors so that they will not disrupt our citizens' interests
there. You can image what would happen at home should the 1.5
million workers employed in the Middle East be repatriated now.

"Besides, the countries where Indonesian workers are employed
have assured Indonesia that they will provide the same maximum
protection as they did during the first Gulf War in 1990," he
said.

Nuwa Wea confirmed that Indonesia would stop sending workers
to the Middle East during March so as to allow it to overhaul the
official procedures for labor exports, rather than because of the
escalating situation in the region.

"The government's decision has nothing to do with the
deteriorating situation but is intended to allow us to improve
the quality of the human resources being exported to the region,"
he said.

Abdulla Umar, former chairman of the Association of Labor
Export Companies (Apjati), said all labor exporters accepted the
government's recent decision to temporarily halt the sending of
workers to the Middle East in order to improve Indonesia's
bargaining position.

"The Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan, are in dire
need of Indonesian workers. Our partner companies in the regions
have given us assurances that Indonesian workers employed in
their countries will be protected in the same way as their
governments protect their own citizens," he said.