Minister Of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian Accepts Aspirations For Reviewing Cases Of 4 Aceh Islands Claimed By North Sumatra

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian/DOK via ANTARA HO Ministry of Home Affairs

BANDA ACEH - Minister of Home Affairs M. Tito Karnavian stated that he still accepts the aspirations of the four islands in Aceh which were later claimed to belong to North Sumatra.

"However, if there are aspirations that want to review the decision, I will meet again later," said Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian in Banda Aceh as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 6.

This assertion was conveyed by Tito Karnavian during a brief press conference after inaugurating the Acting Governor of Aceh Achmad Marzuki at the Aceh DPR Plenary Session in Banda Aceh.

Previously, the Minister of Home Affairs had issued Decree Number 050-145 of 2022 dated February 14, 2022 and determined the transfer of the administrative area of the four islands that were previously included in the Aceh Singkil region and then shifted to Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra.

The four islands that enter North Sumatra are Mangkir Besar Island, Mangkir Kecil Island, Lipan Island and Panjang Island. In fact, the islands are located in the Pulau Banyak archipelago, Aceh Singkil Regency.

The decision to determine the four islands in Aceh Singkil then received many protests from various parties in Aceh, even the Aceh Government continued to advocate for a review of the policy.

Tito conveyed that the issue of territorial boundaries until the decision was made had gone through a long process until the policy was finally issued.

"It's a long process, and I've had meetings with all parties, both with North Sumatra and Aceh. I've seen it," he said.

However, Tito continued, if anyone objected, he would still accept the aspiration if he wanted to review it and would invite related parties to review the provisions.

"If there is an aspiration, we invite all stakeholders (stakeholders), the Ministry of Home Affairs and the two provincial governments. We will look again at the legal rules, the principle is like that," said Tito Karnavian.