"I, myself, have been at the Tripoli Airport since Saturday morning and keep getting in touch with the Tunis Air officials."
Cairo (ANTARA News) - A total of 253 Indonesians eventually left Libya for Tunisia early Sunday after waiting more than 40 hours for an aircraft the Indonesian embassy had chartered.

"Thank God, the first batch the evacuees can finally be flown out of Tripoli International Airport on Sunday at 00.30 AM local time," Indonesian Ambassador to Libya Sanusi said.

Speaking to ANTARA News who phoned him from Cairo on early Sunday, Ambassador Sanusi said the flight to Tunis International Airport took about an hour and ten minutes.

The travel documents and boarding passes of the Indonesian evacuees had been obtained since Friday morning but the chartered aircraft`s landing permit was not soon issued by the Libyan authorities, he said.

"I, myself, have been at the Tripoli Airport since Saturday morning and keep getting in touch with the Tunis Air officials. They said they also got difficulties," he said.

Indonesian Ambassador to Tunisia Muhammad Ibnu Said had earlier confirmed that the first batch of Indonesian evacuees would have been flown out of Libya on Saturday evening local time or early Sunday (West Indonesia Time).

"The Tunisia Air`s aircraft (the Indonesian embassy has chartered) has confirmed its take off from Tunis airport to Tripoli airport at 06.30 PM local time," he said.

Ambassador Muhammad Ibnu Said said he and his staff had been ready to welcome the evacuees since Friday but the flight was delayed due to unavailability of the Libyan authorities` landing permit.

Asked about whether Tunisia`s current situation had been conducive enough so that the Indonesian embassy there was ready for receiving the Indonesian evacuees, he said the security had been conducive despite remaining demonstrations.

"Rallies were still held (by groups of people demanding political change) in Tunisia everyday but they are run peacefully," he said.

A series of anti-government rallies had broken out in various parts of the country with a demand that President Moammar Khadafy step down.

Instead of meeting the demand, Khadafy confirmed that he would remain in power and ordered his military to crush the anti-government demonstrators. More than 1,000 people have died amid the political upheaval.
(T.M043/R013/H-NG/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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