Today (Tuesday, June 20), hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers celebrated “World Refugee Day” in various Indonesian cities by holding mass demonstrations.
These asylum seekers and refugees gathered in the cities of Medan, Makassar, Pekanbaru, Tanjung Pinang, and Batam and protested to clarify their fate.
Protests by refugees and refugee rights activists in Indonesia were symbolic protest movements, including wearing white shrouds and slogans to stop the gradual death of refugees and to stop the ten-year hostage taking in Indonesia. and they requested that the UNHCR, the refugee receiving countries, and the host countries make a clear and serious decision about the fate of refugees and asylum seekers living in Indonesia.
Ezzatullah Ahmadi, an activist for the rights of Afghanistani refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia, said in a conversation with VOC News: “These protests are a continuation of the protests that started two years ago and have continued today on the occasion of the special World Refugee Day. On the other hand, these demonstrations are protesting the celebrations and fringe programmes organised by the host country and the IOM to show the refugees’ satisfaction to the donor countries.
According to Mr. Ahmadi, these celebrations and programmes have been held on special days for years and have continued. But have never been effective in the interests of refugees. Rather, the IUM organisation and the host country use these celebrations as a tactic to keep donor and refugee-receiving countries happy.
Karen
