Priyo made the call in expressing his support for the establishment of a Parliamentary Caucus on Migrant Workers Protection here on Friday.
The caucus was initiated by among others Rieke Dyah Pitaloka (a legislator from DPR`s Commission IX), Ledia Hanifah (Commission IX), Riski Sadig (Commission IX), Hernani Hurustiati (Commission IX), Budi Supriyanto (Commission IX), Teguh Juwarno (Commission I), and Eva Sundari (Commission III).
The new caucus should be supported, encouraged and guarded so it could work in synergy with a team set up by the DPR, he said.
He regretted that the Task Force on Migrant Worker Protection worked only when the legal cases of migrant workers in death row has been in advanced stages.
According to Priyo, at least 218 Indonesian migrant workers have faced execution up to October 2011.
Of the 218 workers, 151 are in Malaysia, 43 in Saudi Arabia, 22 in China and two in Singapore.
Priyo said he was shocked when he saw the data.
The government has planned to send a team to Saudi Arabia to lobby certain parties in the Middle Eastern country in order to obtain legal relief for seven Indonesian migrant workers on death row.
The four-member team would leave for Saudi Arabia on October 16 and stay there for a week, Muhammad Maftuh Basyuni, the head of the Task Force on the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, said here on Thursday (Oct 13).
Basyuni, former religious affairs minister, will be accompanied by Lisna Yoeliana Poeloengan, Benny Partiwanggono and Ramon Andrias, members of the task force, during the mission in Saudi Arabia.
Alwi Sihab, the deputy chief of the task force, had already left for Saudi Arabia.
The team would lobby the families of the victims, the Institute of Forgiveness and Peace for Disputing Parties, and the Governor of Mecca.
Seven Indonesian migrant workers are currently facing execution after being sentenced to death for murder. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
