Middle East Countries Ambassadors Give Guarantee of Safety for Indonesian Workers

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Middle East countries Ambassadors for Indonesia have promised to provide safety for Indonesian workers in their countries. These guarantees are given in line with the United States plan to attack Iraq and are based on existing regulations in each country. The Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Jacob Nuwa Wea, explained this after a meeting with representatives of Middle East embassies for Indonesia in Jakarta on Monday (27/1). The Jordanian Ambassador to Indonesia and representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Arab Saudi, Qatar, and Oman were present at the meeting. Representatives of the Association of Labor Export Companies (APJATI), the Indonesia Employee Agencies Association (IDEA) and the Indonesian Labor Enterprise (PJTKI) also attended the meeting. During the meeting, Jacob said that the ambassadors assured the government that their countries were secure and that the US plan to attack Iraq would not influence their countries. Therefore, the Indonesian government was asked not to evacuate its citizens and workers. They also asked the government to revoke its policy to stop sending workers to Middle East countries, as the workers are needed there. Despite the ambassadors have provided guarantee of security for the workers, Jacob said he did not revoke the policy. I have to think first, he said, adding that he would decide on February 1 whether the policy needs to be revoked or not. Referring to when thousands of workers were deported from Malaysia, Jacob said: I dont want such an incident happen again. (Retno Sulistyowati --- Tempo News Room)