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.