ˇˇˇˇ MANILA, Sept. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The Philippine government is considering a
crackdown on some 12,000 undocumented Indonesian nationals staying permanently
in the country, especially in the southern island of Mindanao, a newspaper
reported Saturday.
ˇˇˇˇThe government has directed the Immigration Bureau to submit anupdated
report on illegal entrants following the recent arrest of four Indonesians
implicated in a bomb blast in the southern General Santos city in April that
killed at least 15 people and wounded over 60 others, the Philippine Star daily
said.
ˇˇˇˇGovernment efforts to deport the undocumented Indonesians were stalled
after the Indonesian Embassy protested and raised some issues including
resettlement problems and the cost of repatriation, it said.
ˇˇˇˇHowever, the government is also considering two other options to resolve
the problem -- naturalize and document the illegal Indonesian immigrants. The
Indonesian Embassy has started issuing identification cards to illegal entrants
pursuant to an earlier agreement to deport them, the paper said.
ˇˇˇˇImmigration authorities said the Indonesians, mostly fishermen and barter
traders, began entering the Philippines through the southern backdoor in the
early 1980s.
ˇˇˇˇThe intelligence community reportedly believed that Indonesian terrorists
linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden were getting support from some
of their colleagues who merged with the illegal entrants.
ˇˇˇˇTwo Filipinos arrested earlier in connection with the General Santos
bombing tagged Indonesian Uskar Makawata, who was arrested last Saturday, as the
mastermind of the bomb attack.
ˇˇˇˇAnother Indonesian identified as Mohammad Sala has been tagged as the owner
of a pump boat being used by Makawata to transport Indonesian terrorists to
General Santos. A raid on Sala's house resulted in the seizure of explosive
materials and guns.
ˇˇˇˇThe Philippine government has also raised a howl of protest over the mass
deportation of thousands of undocumented Filipino migrants, mostly Muslims from
Mindanao, in Malaysia since August when Kuala Lumpur introduced tougher laws on
illegal immigrants. Enditem
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