"The (Indonesian) embassy should have accurate data on Indonesian citizen there, it will make it easier for the evacuation process," said Nurhayati Assegaf, a member of the House of Representatives` Commission I, on Tuesday. Commission I deals among other things with foreign affairs.
Assegaf said, the embassy`s role was very important because the data will make the evacuation process faster in order to take Indonesians` back to Indonesia immediately.
"The evacuation decision taken by the government is precise and fast, because as much as 6,149 Indonesians are threatened and it`s the duty of the government to guarantee their safety whereas the embassy is representative of the government there," Assegaf added.
She hoped that the embassy in Cairo has the data considering the fact that Indonesian living in Egypt are not only those in Cairo, the capital, but also scattered in many places in Egypt.
She also commented about the evacuation team sent by the Indonesian government last night, "I hope the team is carrying optimum equipment, because we already know it`s hard to make communication there," Assegaf added.
"The chaos in Egypt is an extraordinary event and we from the House Commission I has already made internal meeting for the crisis," she said, adding that tomorrow (Feb 2) the Commission I will invite the foreign affairs minister and the National Defence Forces (TNI) commander to get information about the evacuate mission of the Indonesian citizens.
Last night (Jan 31), Minister of Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa and Minister of Transportation Freddy Numberi had sent off the evacuation team to go to Egypt at 00.00 p.m., on Monday.
As many as 102 people have been killed, thousands of Egyptians have proclaimed distrust against the government and forced President Hosni Mubarak to leave the center of power in Egypt.
(KR-VFT/S012/S026)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
