As if there was no strife.....,!

Egypt Blasts Indonesian Minister for ‘Embarrassing’ Statement.


Jakarta Globe | March 05, 2011


The Egyptian Embassy in Jakarta has criticized Indonesia’s Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar for banning migrant workers from traveling to Egypt and comparing the country to Libya.

In a strongly worded statement received by the Jakarta Globe on Thursday, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt said it was “demanding an immediate explanation” from the minister’s office regarding the decision to temporarily stop sending Indonesian workers to Libya and Egypt.

Muhaimin was quoted by state news agency Antara as saying on Tuesday that due to the political upheaval in Libya and Egypt, “which could endanger the lives of our workers, the government has decided to stop sending workers to these countries for the time being.”

“The government is very concerned about the safety of its workers in the conflict-ridden countries,” Muhaimin said. “We cannot let our workers be at risk of becoming victims of the conflicts abroad.”

The Egyptian Embassy said it was “disturbed to say the least” by the statements.

“It is perceived to be embarrassingly necessary to question the grounds on which [Muhaimin] came to put the current situation in Egypt and Libya on an equal footing, especially that the country is now steadily returning back to normality and stability after witnessing one of the most honorable and peaceful revolutions ever to be known in modern history,” the statement read.

“Moreover, these statements are gravely inconsistent and contradictory with the Indonesian government’s latest assessment of the situation as being stable and secure.”

The release noted that the Indonesian government was cooperating with Egyptian authorities for the roughly 2,500 Indonesian students evacuated from the country to return to Egypt to complete their studies. The first batch of 200 students was returning on Saturday.

“It would not occur to us that RI government would have taken such a decision had the situation in Egypt qualified to [Muhaimin’s] assessment of ‘political upheavals in Libya and Egypt which could endanger the lives of our workers’ as mentioned in the statement.”

The statement said the embassy could not “hide its bitter disappointment and utter incomprehension at this inadequate and totally unnecessary decision, when other countries that do not enjoy flourishing relations with Egypt as the case with Indonesia, have in fact removed all restrictions on travel to the country.”