Women's solidarity responds

Women's solidarity responds

I am writing in response to the letter by Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdullah A. Alim (The Jakarta Post, Oct. 26, 1995) regarding the statement about the number of Indonesian workers who died in Saudi Arabia's jails in 1994.

The statement was based on a report published by Media Indonesia dated Jan. 2, 3, and 4, 1995. I was curious to know why there was no response to the articles from the Saudi Arabian government.

Although the ambassador denounced the statement as untrue, and the exact number of the dead prisoners might not be correct, the death of just one person is still significant and deserves a thorough investigation. One hundred is obviously a more impressive number. The Indonesian and Saudi governments have the same responsibility to provide due protection to the Indonesian migrant workers.

Therefore we call on the Saudi Arabian government to conduct an investigation into the death of the Indonesian workers while they were in jails in 1994. Also, as a host country, Saudi Arabia should be sure of the workers' safety and human rights protection.

TATI KRISNAWATY

Chairperson, Executive

Board, Women's Solidarity

for Human Rights

Jakarta