Government Ensures Indonesian Citizens In Thailand-Kamboja Are Safe

Deputy Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus (center)/ANTARA PHOTO/Muhammad Iqbal/tom.

JAKARTA - Deputy Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs (Wamenko Polkam) Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus ensured that Indonesian citizens in Thailand and Cambodia were in a safe condition.

"So far it is safe, there is no problem. Because our foreign political deputies are still being monitored," Lodewijk said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, July 25.

According to Lodewijk, no Indonesian citizens are directly at the location of the conflict because the battlefield is in the border area between Thailand and Cambodia.

The border area is a forest area far from the settlements or city centers of each country.

However, his party through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to monitor the conflict situation to find out the possibility of Indonesian citizens being trapped there.

The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Phonm Penh received confirmation from Cambodia that no Indonesian citizens (WNI) were victims of the border war between Cambodia and Thailand.

The confirmation was received by the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, when receiving a direct briefing from the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu) and Cambodia International Cooperation, Prak Sokhonn.

"The Cambodian Foreign Minister conveyed information on casualties in the Cambodian region, but has not been able to provide confirmation regarding the number of people who died, were injured, or damaged buildings. It was emphasized that no foreign nationals were victims," said the statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh received in Jakarta, Friday.

The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh noted that there are Indonesian citizens who live and work in O'Smach, the capital of Oddar Meanchey Province.

This information was obtained from a complaint received via the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh Hotline. However, it is not known the exact number of Indonesian citizens in the province.

Meanwhile, there is no data regarding the presence of Indonesian citizens in Preah Vihear Province. The two provinces, which are close to the conflict zone, are more than 6 hours away from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

The Indonesian Embassy explained that at the meeting between the Cambodian Foreign Minister and the diplomatic corps at Phnom Penh, Sokhonn conveyed the chronology of the escalation of the conflict since the first tension occurred due to gunfire that caused a Cambodian soldier to die on May 28.

Sokhonn also conveyed the Cambodian Government's commitment to finding a peaceful solution based on international law from the problems currently faced with Thailand.

The Cambodian Foreign Minister explained that Cambodian Prime Minister (PM), Hun Manet, had sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council to discuss the developing conflict with the aim of pushing for a ceasefire agreement, "said the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh.

A similar letter was also submitted to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as Chair of ASEAN, expressing his appreciation for the efforts of the Malaysian Prime Minister to communicate directly with the two warring countries.

At the same time, the Cambodian Foreign Minister conveyed an appeal so that local and foreign citizens do not travel to areas around the conflict zone in Oddar Meanchey Province and Preah Vihear Province.