Foreign Affairs Ministry Hands Over Two Victims to West Kalimantan

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PONTIANAK, KOMPAS — The government has promised to work extra hard, such as through diplomatic efforts, to stop practices of human trafficking under a scheme called “mail-order bride”.

Human trafficking cannot be properly tackled unless it is supported by prevention efforts in the regions targeted by human trafficking rings.

"The complexity of the issue of [human trafficking] through a marriage promise necessitates a compressive approach. It is very important to cut the chain in human trafficking through coordination between the central and regional governments […] upstream and downstream,” Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on Thursday during a visit to Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

During a closed-door meeting at the West Kalimantan Police offices, Retno met West Kalimantan Governor Sutarmidji, West Kalimantan Police chief Insp. Gen. Didi Haryono and a number of stakeholders in efforts against human trafficking in the province.

Retno also handed over two female victims of human trafficking to the governor during the meeting, before they were to be taken to their parents. Victims of human trafficking conducted under the guise of marriage promises, they had just flown back from China.

One of them was 14 years old. Coordination in handling human trafficking in West Kalimantan is important, because some of the victims are from the province. "This meeting is also for prevention. The matter cannot be handled in an optimal way if there is no prevention. Prevention is easier than handling the problem [at a later stage]. With this coordination, it is expected there will be no new cases of human trafficking in the province. Education of the community is important, and [then there is] the importance of good governance, which concerns the government," Retno said.

Human trafficking carried out through a marriage promise has taken place for a long time. A number of human trafficking cases emerged lately. "The number of victims has been quite high and serves as the basis for immediate handling of the problem. The President has ordered all parties to solve the problem, while preventing similar cases from happening," Retno said.

Diplomatic efforts to address human trafficking have been carried out with the Chinese government. "I have met with the Chinese ambassador on Monday (22/7). The Indonesian ambassador in Beijing has also met with the Foreign Affairs Ministry of China," she explained.

Governor Sutarmidji said that, if the population administration system was managed properly in accordance with standard operating procedures, nobody should be able to lie about their age, as some of the victims did.

"They intentionally mark up their age. I have asked the West Kalimantan Police to investigate and find individuals at the relevant agencies who help manipulate the data," he said.

Police chief Didi said three people had been arrested for alleged involvement in the human trafficking case. “A further investigation is under way to find other actors. The problem of faked identities is also a focus of the investigation,” he said.

The chairperson of the branch office of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) in West Kalimantan, Iswandi, said 13 victims of human trafficking from West Kalimantan had been taken home so far, while three more West Kalimantan residents were at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, one from Sintang district and the other two from Singkawang. (ESA)

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