Kamis 16 Feb 2012 21:18 WIB

Dozens Indonesians evacuated from Syria

Foto: Reuters/Mulham Alnader

Black smoke is seen from a Homs refinery on Wednesday. An explosion hit a major oil pipeline feeding a refinery in Homs, sending a large plume of smoke rising into the sky, witnesses said. The blast hit the pipeline near a district being shelled by governm

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID,

JAKARTA - More than 37 Indonesians are being evacuated from Syria following worsening of political crisis in the country, the Foreign Affairs Ministry says on Thursday. Students and household workers are among those who are being evacuated. Earlier, the Indonesian Embassy in Damascus evacuated seven nationals, all migrant workers, to Jakarta.

There are around 98 Indonesians staying in temporary shelter in Damascus, ready to be evacuated to Jakarta. Indonesian legislative body has been urged to evacuate immediately around 12,500 nationals from Syria following the escalation in violence in the Middle Eastern country.

"The foreign ministry must consider effective measures to save more than 12,500 Indonesians staying in that country by immediately evacuating them," chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I Mahfudz Siddiq Mahfudz said recently.

He suggests that the Indonesians can be moved to Syria's neighbouring countries temporarily. "We need to pressure President Bashar Al Assad to stop violence against civilians," he said. "Indonesia must push for a peaceful solution to end the turbulence in Syria and encourage a democratic transition."

Foreign Affairs Minister Marty M Natalegawa earlier reiterated his call for an end to the escalating violence against civilians in Syria. Indonesia also called for a political process in Syria following a failed attempt the United Nations to issue a resolution on the country, the foreign ministry said recently.

Marty said this during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in New York on last Friday. "Indonesia has so far emphasized the need to end the violence and to conduct a political process to respect the Syrian people's aspirations," the minister said, echoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's recent statement on Syria.

The Indonesian and Turkish foreign affairs ministers stress the significance of their roles as democratic and Muslim-majority states in responding to the situation in Syria.They also explores the possibility of organising an international meeting on the Syrian crisis.

sumber : Antara

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