Deputy Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus revealed that the evacuation of around 380 Indonesian citizens in Iran, which is currently in high conflict with Israel, is being carried out, but not all of them want to be evacuated.
"How to respond to the Israeli and US attacks on Iran which will have an impact. What is clear is that our citizens in Iran (are) being evacuated. Of the 380 Indonesian citizens in Iran, not all of them want to be evacuated," said Lodewijk after giving material at the Wave II Regional Head Retreat at IPDN Jatinangor, Sumedang, Tuesday.
One of the reasons why some Indonesian citizens do not want to be evacuated, said Lodewijk, is the long travel time required for evacuation purposes.
"Because of that (one of them), the evacuation trip from Tehran to Azerbaijan (Baku City) took 16 hours of land travel, then transported by commercial aircraft by the Indonesian government," he said.
Lodewijk said the Indonesian government had issued an appeal not only to Indonesian citizens in Iran, but also to neighboring countries in order to anticipate the escalation of regional conflicts.
"We have given an appeal to those there, not only regarding (the conflict) between Israel and Iran, but also neighboring countries, do not let escalation develop, do not let them protect themselves individually," he said.
Regarding the evacuation of Indonesian citizens in Iran that is being carried out by the government, Lodewijk said that this evening the first group of them will arrive in Jakarta, Indonesia.
"What is clear is that Indonesian citizens in Iran have been evacuated, the first group has entered Jakarta this afternoon," he said.
Although not all Indonesian citizens in Iran are willing to participate in the evacuation, Lodewijk said that until now the government has made an offer to anyone who wants to return to Indonesia to avoid conflict.
"We have provided, offered to return to Indonesia also given facilities. The principle of the Ministry of Defense, we have defense attachés in each country, coordinating to always monitor and provide suggestions, including security plans for them," he added.
It was reported that in the first stage of evacuation, 96 Indonesian citizens participated, including three embassy staff, plus one foreign national who was the spouse of an Indonesian citizen.
