President Jokowi calls for restructuring of TPPO
Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) instructed his ranks to conduct restructuring of the Task Force for the Eradication and Prevention of Human Trafficking (TPPO), Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD stated.
The president conveyed the order after receiving a report from Head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Protection Agency (BP2MI) Benny Rhamdani at a meeting regarding the eradication of TPPO at the Presidential Palace here on Tuesday.
“Earlier, (at the meeting), Mr Benny (Rhamdani) told the president that more than 1,900 bodies were repatriated in a year due to human trafficking,” the coordinating minister told reporters after attending the meeting.
He cited the latest data while saying that at least 55 Indonesian migrant workers from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province had passed away and were repatriated to Indonesia during the period from January to May 2023.
“Hence, the president asked for the restructuring of the Task Force for the Eradication and Prevention of Human Trafficking,” he noted.
In addition, President Jokowi called on all government officials and institutions related to TPPO eradication as well as the police and military to work quickly to address the issue within the next month, Mahfud emphasized.
On the same occasion, Rhamdani stated that in the last three years, his side had taken care of around 94 thousand Indonesian migrant workers, who were deported from Middle Eastern and Asian countries.
Some 90 percent of them left for those countries illegally and were believed to have been sent by illegal migrant worker syndicates, he noted.
“Furthermore, there were about 1,900 bodies (repatriated within one year). Thus, on average, two bodies were sent to Indonesia every day,” he added.
Currently, the government’s attempts to eradicate human trafficking are based on Presidential Regulation Number 22 of 2021 on Amendments to Presidential Regulation Number 69 of 2008 regarding the Task Force for the Prevention and Handling of Human Trafficking.
