"Indonesia to follow international regulation on handling Rohingya migrants - CNA 15 May 2015
JAKARTA: Indonesia will continue providing food and settlement for the Rohingya migrants who have arrived on its shores, said Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Dr Indroyono Soesilo on Friday (May 15). He added that Indonesia will follow international regulations for illegal migrants when dealing with them.
"We provide all the needs for them - food and settlement. But in the meantime, we follow the international regulation of illegal migrants, UNHCR for the moment, to handle this group of people," he said. "But in terms of global policy, we follow international regulations on this."
Attending a forum in Singapore, the minister said Indonesia has not sent the migrants back to where they came from, despite the country not being a signatory of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees by the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.
Dr Indroyono also said Jakarta has been dealing with the issue of migrants since the 1980s, when there were many Vietnamese refugees entering Indonesia. The migrants were then placed on the Galang island, he added.
Indonesia is willing to participate and share its experience during the upcoming International Conference on Regional Sea Migrant Problems on May 29 in Bangkok, Dr Indroyono added.
Since Sunday, about 1,300 Rohingya migrants have landed on Indonesian shores."
It is a TRAGEDY when people have to, or had decided to, leave their own countries due to them being prosecuted unfairly there! In the early '70s it was war that drove ten of thousands of Vietnamese to flee their country. So was the case with the many Syrian refugees that are causing a big headache for Italy and the EU.
Lessons for me are:
1. who is responsible to HELP these refugees when they are in imminent danger of dying at seas while fleeing their countries? It is the nearest countries where their ships sunk or gone adrift? If so, who should be funding these rescue efforts and the daily expenses of putting them in a decent environment while their immigration status are been processed or debated?;
2. some so-called humanitarian organizations were quick to condemn any regimes that turned the refugees boats into the open seas as 'murderers', 'butchers', and inhumane. How about they come up with the funding so that the 'murderous and heartless' countries can take in as many refugees as there are? Will they? It is easy to criticise in this particular situation but definitely VERY HARD to try to JUST accept any refugees that land on the host countries' shores!;
3. if the refugees are leaving their home countries due to war, we can understand. Definitely the host countries should receive them and house them in 'proper refugees camps' FUNDED by UN and those humanitarian organizations that demanded 'human treatment' for these refugees. The FUNDING has to be in cash and immediate so that REAL actions are taken to help REAL people.
Then come the ultimate solution, to send them HOME after a certain number of years. NONE should be allowed to stay on. ONLY them can rightfully claim their own countries. Resolve the civil war. Resolve any oppressions in the HOME countries that drive them to leave in the first place.
ONLY when the ROOT causes are eradicated can we prevent this so-called 'human tragedy'. If one ever become a refugee, one can understand why the host country is reluctant and sometimes unable to take refugees in.
JAKARTA: Indonesia will continue providing food and settlement for the Rohingya migrants who have arrived on its shores, said Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Dr Indroyono Soesilo on Friday (May 15). He added that Indonesia will follow international regulations for illegal migrants when dealing with them.
"We provide all the needs for them - food and settlement. But in the meantime, we follow the international regulation of illegal migrants, UNHCR for the moment, to handle this group of people," he said. "But in terms of global policy, we follow international regulations on this."
Attending a forum in Singapore, the minister said Indonesia has not sent the migrants back to where they came from, despite the country not being a signatory of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees by the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.
Dr Indroyono also said Jakarta has been dealing with the issue of migrants since the 1980s, when there were many Vietnamese refugees entering Indonesia. The migrants were then placed on the Galang island, he added.
Indonesia is willing to participate and share its experience during the upcoming International Conference on Regional Sea Migrant Problems on May 29 in Bangkok, Dr Indroyono added.
Since Sunday, about 1,300 Rohingya migrants have landed on Indonesian shores."
It is a TRAGEDY when people have to, or had decided to, leave their own countries due to them being prosecuted unfairly there! In the early '70s it was war that drove ten of thousands of Vietnamese to flee their country. So was the case with the many Syrian refugees that are causing a big headache for Italy and the EU.
Lessons for me are:
1. who is responsible to HELP these refugees when they are in imminent danger of dying at seas while fleeing their countries? It is the nearest countries where their ships sunk or gone adrift? If so, who should be funding these rescue efforts and the daily expenses of putting them in a decent environment while their immigration status are been processed or debated?;
2. some so-called humanitarian organizations were quick to condemn any regimes that turned the refugees boats into the open seas as 'murderers', 'butchers', and inhumane. How about they come up with the funding so that the 'murderous and heartless' countries can take in as many refugees as there are? Will they? It is easy to criticise in this particular situation but definitely VERY HARD to try to JUST accept any refugees that land on the host countries' shores!;
3. if the refugees are leaving their home countries due to war, we can understand. Definitely the host countries should receive them and house them in 'proper refugees camps' FUNDED by UN and those humanitarian organizations that demanded 'human treatment' for these refugees. The FUNDING has to be in cash and immediate so that REAL actions are taken to help REAL people.
Then come the ultimate solution, to send them HOME after a certain number of years. NONE should be allowed to stay on. ONLY them can rightfully claim their own countries. Resolve the civil war. Resolve any oppressions in the HOME countries that drive them to leave in the first place.
ONLY when the ROOT causes are eradicated can we prevent this so-called 'human tragedy'. If one ever become a refugee, one can understand why the host country is reluctant and sometimes unable to take refugees in.
No comments:
Post a Comment