Indonesia Highlights: Earthquake in Indonesia’s East Java Province Kills Eight, Injures 25 | Government to Build New Penitentiaries for Terrorists in the Nusakambangan Prison Island | BP2MI Indonesi

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Natural disasters continue to grip Indonesia, after a 6.1 Richter scale earthquake hit the province of East Java on Saturday, killing at least eight people and injuring 25 others.

The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights plan to build new penitentiaries for terror suspects on the Nusakambangan island prison, following a surge in arrests of related terrorists after suicide attacks on Makassar cathedral and the National Police headquarters in Jakarta at the end of March.

And the BP2MI Indonesian migrant worker watchdog claimed to rescue more than 700 Indonesian migrant workers from getting trafficked overseas. This and more on Indonesia Highlights:

KOMPAS.COM/ASIP HASANI Rubble in a house at East Java's Tulungagung regency, after a 6.1 Richter scale earthquake hit the province and other parts of Indonesia on Saturday (10/4/2021), killing 8 people and injuring 25 others

Earthquake in Indonesia’s East Java Province Kills Eight, Injures 25

A 6.1 Richter scale earthquake has struck the Indonesian province of East Java on Saturday afternoon, killing eight people and injuring 25 others. The earthquake, whose epicenter is 96 kilometers off the Malang regency, did not set off a tsunami warning.

“Five of the fatalities are from the Lumajang regency, while three are from the Malang regency” said Regional Mitigation Agency [BPBD] branch for East Java Gatot Subroto. “Most of them have been killed by buildings toppled by the earthquake or rubble.”

Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency or BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation head Daryono noted that “the earthquake was traced to a depth of 25 kilometers offshore the town of Kepanjen in Malang regency,” he said.

Daryono noted that the earthquake was felt in other Indonesian areas, among them the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa in East Nusa Tenggara province, and the provinces of Bali, Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Another earthquake occurred off the Sangihe islands of North Sulawesi province. As with East Java, the earthquake did not set off a tsunami.

The BMKG also warned East Java not to let its guard down, as the province is vulnerable to more natural disasters.

“The earthquake has shifted the slopes on mountains and other higher ground. If they are hit by light to heavy rains, it will cause landslides, flash floods, high winds, falling trees, and other natural disasters,” said BMKG head Dwikorita Karnamati.

Indonesia is located on the Indo-Pacific Ring of Fire, a geographical area that is vulnerable to earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/04/11/022456774/earthquake-in-indonesias-east-java-province-kills-eight-injures-25?page=all#page2. 

KOMPAS.COM/FADLAN MUKHTAR ZAIN Nusakambangan Island, the site of Indonesia's most secure prison

Government to Build New Penitentiaries for Terrorists in the Nusakambangan Prison Island

Minister of Legal and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly has announced plans to build three new penitentiaries for terror suspects on the Nusakambangan prison island, as terrorist assaults intensified with suicide attacks in Makassar, South Sulawesi province and Jakarta last March.

“We decided build the penitentiaries, following reports by the Attorney General’s Office [AGO] and the police that the Detachment 88 [Densus 88] counterterrorist unit that the holding cells it used for suspected terrorists at its headquarters in Cikeas, West Java has become overcrowded,” he said.

Yasonna attributed the overcrowding to the increasing number of arrests following the Makassar blasts, which killed the two suicide bombers and injured dozens of churchgoers who were leaving a Palm Sunday mass.

“The three penitentiaries [for terror suspects] in Nusakambangan should have differing security levels, from supermax, maximum security, to medium security if the [terrorist detainee] is sufficiently rehabilitated,” he added.

“Their construction is urgent, as prisoners held on terrorism charges cannot be integrated into the general population of other inmates. ”

Nusakambangan is known to detain terrorists, drug smugglers and other high-security prisoners. They include firebrand Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, who was released on health grounds earlier this year, and members of the Bali Nine drug smuggling ring.

The island prison is also known as the site for the 2008 execution of militants Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron due to their role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed over 200 people, as well as Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in 2015.

Source:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/04/11/01115201/menkumham-sebut-pemerintah-akan-bangun-tiga-lapas-khusus-teroris-di. 

ANTARA FOTO/FAUZAN BP2MI personnel compile data from repatriated Indonesian migrant workers at a boardinghouse in the city of Tangerang, Banten Province on Thursday (19/11/2020), after 27 workers returning from Taiwan was found to be Covid-19 positive. ANTARA FOTO/Fauzan/NZ

BP2MI Indonesian Workers Watchdog Saved 700 Migrant Workers From Human Trafficking Overseas

The BP2MI [Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers] has rescued hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers from an uncertain fate overseas, during a series of raids over a nine month period dating back to 2020.

“We have raided the offices of 19 companies which were actually illegal placement agencies for over 700 migrant workers,” said BP2MI head Benny Ramdhani.

“The laborer have been on the verge of working illegally overseas, and might even have become victims of human trafficking, if we did not act. For that reason, we urge prospective migrant workers to solely rely on accredited Indonesian companies for before they worked overseas.”

He also called on Indonesian workers not to take news at face value, especially those from social media. “Many of the news on social media are hoaxes. Many are perhaps planted by those illegal companies who want revenge after we uncovered their operations. ”

However, the Secretary for the Business Association of Indonesian Labor Services [DPD Apjati], Ika Hikmah, disputed the claim. “We have yet to hear about BP2MI’s raids on placement companies in Central Java,” she maintained.

Thousands of Indonesian migrant workers go to the Middle East and Asia to work in such countries as Saud Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Source:

https://regional.kompas.com/read/2021/04/11/050000978/bp2mi-selamatkan-700-orang-yang-akan-dipekerjakan-ke-luar-negeri-secara?page=all#page2.