Indonesia stops issuing visas for Indians fleeing COVID-19
In order to avoid a new wave of the pandemic, Indonesia banned the mudik, the mass exodus of millions of people who leave their towns and cities days and weeks before Eid-al-Fitr to visit their family and relatives in their hometown.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesia officially suspended issuing visas for all Indian nationals and foreigners who visited India in the previous 14 days to avoid a possible new wave of COVID-19 in the country, this according to Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto.
Indonesians who have been to India are exempt. “They can come home, but they will have to follow a very strict health protocol,” Minister Hartarto explained.
The ban follows the recent arrival in Indonesia of many Indians, which set off alarm bells among senior Indonesian health officials, including the country’s COVID-19 Task Force.
Unexpected news from Riau province reported yesterday noted that top local health officials informed COVID-19 Task Force head, General Doni Monardo, that many Indians were flocking to the province to escape from the recent COVID-19 surge in their own country.
“A large number of Indian citizens have arrived here,” said Benget Saragih, a senior health official at Indonesia's Ministry of Health, during a closed-door meeting.
The Indians who arrived at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport sought connecting flights to other Indonesian cities. However, a quarantine hotel was set up “lock up” these temporary “immigrants”, said Saragih, who added that some Indian citizens tested positive for the virus in Samarinda, capital of East Kalimantan.
Indonesia’s immigration agency has been blamed for the situation since the Indians were able to enter Indonesia after receiving a temporary visa and a limited residency permit (KITAS[*]). “Most of KITAS holders are homemakers and children,” Saragih explained.
As of yesterday, at least 132 Indian citizens had arrived in Indonesia.
Double standards
General Monardo expressed serious concern because the government of President Joko Widodo yesterday banned mudik, the traditional exodus whereby millions of Indonesians travel to their home towns and villages before or at major holidays.
In Java, days or weeks before the Eid al Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, people are expected to visit their family and relatives in their hometowns. In Jakarta, home to at least 13 million people, some 8-9 million people travel during Mudik, leaving the capital’s streets almost empty.
This year, the authorities officially extended the mudik ban from 22 April to 24 May; initially, it had been limited to 5-17 May.
A potential new wave of the COVID-19 epidemic during the mudik period is one of the concerns expressed yesterday by the Indonesian government.
In view of the situation, General Monardo strongly urged the country’s Defence Ministry and the immigration agency to stop any large-scale inflow from India.
“I'm seriously concerned about this matter. We have banned our fellow Indonesians from the annual mudik, yet foreigners can enter Indonesia,” the general said.
[*] Kartu Izin Tinggal Terbatas.
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