BENJINA SLAVERY CASE SHEDS LIGHT ON OTHER CRIMES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 28 (Antara) - The alleged slavery case by the Thai firm PT Pusaka Benjina Resource (PBR), based in Aru Island, Maluku province, has led to the revelation of other alleged crimes in the maritime and fishery sector.          The Ministry of Manpower is probing indications and investigating alleged slavery practices against the crew members of PT PBR's fishing vessels operating in the waters of Aru Island, Maluku.          "The manpower ministry is still carrying out thorough investigations in the Benjina case. We are examining manpower violations while criminal violations are being handled by the police," Manpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri stated after meeting Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastusi in Jakarta on Monday.          Early this month, several international media outlets such as the Associated Press from the United States had reported about the enslaved boat crew members employed by the company that conducts fishing in Indonesia.          According to the Associated Press, PT PBR, a company based in Benjina on Aru Island in Maluku, an eastern province of Indonesia, had been treating its ship's crew members as slaves.          The International Organization for Migration (IOM) revealed that the number of fishermen forced into slavery reaches four thousand. They are reportedly compelled to work as slaves.

GOVT URGED TO TAKE STERN ACTION AGAINST SLAVERY

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, April 5 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is expected to take stern measures against companies operating fishing ships which practice slavery in the fishery sector.          "The disclosure of the slavery practice in Benjina, Aru Island, Maluku, indicates that the upholding of the law in the fishery sector in the past five months has not yet created significant deterrent effects," Indonesian Traditional Fishermen's Association (KNTI) General Chairman M Riza Damanik said here on Sunday.          The KNTI called on related parties, including the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) to investigate the alleged report of slavery practices in the fishery sector.          "The slavery case of fishermen in Indonesian waters should thoroughly be investigated,"  M Riza Damanik has earlier said.          Several international media outlets such as the Associated Press of the US have reported the slavery of boat crews employed by the company that conducts fishing in Indonesia.