Complications Of ABK China Ship Boy System Research

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The case of the death of Indonesian crew members on the Long Xin 629 ship, requires the government to investigate the alleged application of the slave labor system on the ship. There were four crew members who died on the Chinese ship.

Chairman of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) Hasto Atmojo views, in this case there are indications of criminal acts of trafficking in persons or slavery. This is because there is a work agreement that is deemed inhuman and restricts the crew members.

This departs from the similarities in a number of cases of criminal trafficking in persons (TIP). Especially in the marine and fisheries sector handled by LPSK, including ships belonging to Japan, Somalia, South Korea, and the Netherlands.

"Usually, victims experience fraud in the recruitment process, such as falsification of identity, working hours that exceed regulations, acts of violence and torture, confinement, improper wages, and death threats," said Hasto in a written statement, Thursday, May 7.

Now, the government has moved to investigate the alleged enslavement of the crew members on the Long Xin 629 ship. However, it turns out that investigating the work agreement and the case that occurred was not easy.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the initial step taken by the government was to ask the authorities of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to also investigate the vessels involved, the conditions of work, and to treat the work on board.

This is because, he said, the Foreign Ministry could not carry out its own investigation. This is because the juridical area of the case is quite complicated. That is, the crew who died were Indonesian citizens, they worked on fishing boats with Chinese flags, and what happened to the crew members to death was in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

"When entering the upstream area, it becomes the authority of other authorities besides the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Therefore, we will coordinate with other agencies responsible for upstream to strengthen protection for crew members working on longline fishing vessels," Retno told reporters.

Resolving cases of crew members on Chinese ships is not only the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) is also responsible. This is because the Ministry of Manpower has the role of granting permission to operate the Manning Agency, namely the agency that supplies Indonesian workers abroad.

The Ministry of Manpower must investigate the work agreement for ABK who is considered problematic. In a report by the South Korean news agency, MBC News, the crew members have a work statement signed with the material. Its contents, they will bear all the risks if a disaster occurs to death.

In this letter, ABK stated that their respective families already knew the contents of the agreement. Therefore, if something goes wrong with the ABK, their family cannot bring this matter to the police or Indonesian law.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Manpower, Ida Fauziyah, stated that his party was conducting an investigation on the placement company. This is to ensure whether the procedures for placement and fulfillment of the rights of crew members are appropriate, and whether the contents of street vendors and other placement documents have complied with the rules or not.

"If there are violations committed by the Indonesian migrant worker placement company (P3MI), then we will not hesitate to take firm action against the company in accordance with the rules for implementing sanctions," explained Ida when contacted separately.

However, the Ministry of Manpower also does not have full authority over the placement permits for ABK distribution companies so far. So, said Ida, the Ministry of Manpower cannot work alone in investigating cases and requires assistance from the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

"Company permits such as the placement letter for migrant workers are not fully at the Ministry of Manpower. Given, the Ministry of Transportation has also issued a SIUPPAK or Business License for the Recruitment and Placement of Ship Crew," said Ida.

For information, South Korean media MBC News reported that three Indonesian citizens who were crew members of the ship (ABK) had died on the Long Xin 629 and Xian Yu 8 ships belonging to China.

The cause of the death of the crew members on the fishing boat belonging to China was due to slavery. The crew members of the Indonesian ship are suspected of being obliged to work which is not in accordance with human rights.

The case that was reported by the MBC television station was widely known by the Indonesian public, after a Youtuber named Jang Hansol who was fluent in Indonesian, on the Korean Reomit account, explained the chronology of the news.

After watching the MBC news broadcast, Hansol stated that workers, including the Indonesian crew members, had exploited them. They, said Hansol, were required to work 18 hours per day.

Then, they only get 6 hours to rest as well as hours to eat. During their time on the ship, the crew members did not get proper drinking water. They can only drink filtered seawater.

The passports of the crew members were confiscated, so they could not escape. Not only that, crew members who worked at sea for 13 months only received a salary of 140,000 won or around IDR 1.7 million.

As a result, three crew members died due to illness in the ship in the middle of the ocean. They are Ari (24 years), Al Fatah (19 years), and Sepri (24 years). The bodies of the three crew members were not taken to the mainland. They were put in bags, then the crew of other ships carried out activities similar to such as funeral ceremonies, then the bodies were carried and floated out to sea.