Vice Marshal Sukirno, deputy chief of the Task Force Handling Indonesians in Egypt and Libya, said here Thursday the evacuations were conducted by air, land, and sea.
The Indonesian evacuees were taken out of Libya and repatriated via Tunisia which was chosen as a transit point before their trips n home, he said.
"The evacuation processes were carried out by the government through its embassies in Tripoli, Tunis and Cairo as well as by companies and the Indonesian citizens themselves," he said.
On Thursday morning, 216 Indonesian evacuees from Libya had arrived here. They were flown by a chartered Garuda aircraft, he said.
The government-sponsored task force for evacuating Indonesians said earlier that the evacuees were flown by Garuda`s Airbus 330-200 aircraft and arrived here at about 04.31 AM Jakarta time.
Before being transported to their respective hometowns, they were given shelter at the Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory.
The evacuees consisted of students and migrant workers. With the same Garuda aircraft, 213 Indonesians, mostly students, left for Egypt on March 8.
Of the 1,985 Indonesians who had registered to return to Egypt at the National Educational Ministry`s official website, 340 had been flown back to the country from Jakarta.
The remaining was still waiting for the completion of their travel documents.
At the Indonesian embassy in Tripoli, Libya, 123 Indonesians remained in there . They consisted of students and the embassy`s staff.
Indonesia has decided to temporarily repatriate its citizens from political upheaval-hit countries as Egypt and Libya for security reasons.
The people of Egypt and Libya have demanded their presidents` resignation. Despite Hosni Mubarak`s willingness to step down, Libyan president, Moammar Khadafy, consistently rejected the anti-government backers` calls for his resignation.
Instead, Khadafy clings to power amid a civil war that has claimed several thousands of lives.
Presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah recently said the government could not force Indonesians evacuated from Libya and still sheltered in Tunisia for repatriation.
He said "the government cannot force them to do what is best for them. But at least, they have moved from the conflict area to a stable country," he said.
Foreign Minister Spokesman Michael Tene said there were some Indonesian students who did not want to be returned to Indonesia and preferred to wait in Tunisia.
(T.D013*P008/R013/HAJM/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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