REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries managed to repatriate as many as 16 fishermen from Sinjai, South Sulawesi.
Director General of Marine Resources and Fisheries, Syahrin Abdurrahman said that all fishermen were previously detained by Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) for alleged fishing in Australian water.
"The repatriation is a realization of government care over fate of fishermen," Abdurrahman said recently.
All fishermen were arrested on October 11, 2013. They are Firman, Souleng, Serang, Rusdi, Amirudin, Indra Aditya, Wiranto, Sudirman, Dival, Muhammad Tahir Fajar, Abdul Muin, Amiruddin, Mukrimin, Faizal Anwar, Taharuddin and Tanhar. They were repatriated gradually on October 30 until November 3, 2013 using Jetstar and Air Asia via Denpasar, Bali.
Fishermen will be flown to Makassar, South Sulawesi and then repatriated to Sinjay. Government has conducted some advocacy programs through Directorate General of Indonesian Consulate in Darwin, Australia. Since 2011 to 2013, government has managed to repatriate 384 Indonesian fishermen.
Hundreds of fishermen were previously detained in Malaysia, Australia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and India.
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