Egyptian Military Reportedly Question Indonesian Students in Cairo

Jakarta Globe, February 06, 2011

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Pekanbaru, Riau. About 50 Indonesian students studying in Egypt were searched and investigated by Egyptian military personnel on Saturday evening, an Indonesian student in Cairo said over the phone on Sunday.

Indonesian evacuees from Egypt arriving on a government -
chartered flight at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Wednesday.
Indonesian students still in Cairo said they were increasingly
becoming scared. (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

Faisal Amri, who is studying at the Al Azhar University, said he and his friends were examined by military officers who were suspicious of foreigners.

"They increasingly become suspicious. Their suspicion towards foreigners has exceeded the limit of propriety," Faisal told ANTARA here from Cairo.

He said that some of the Indonesian students came from Central Java, Sumatra and other regions in Indonesia.

"Of the total number of students studying in Egypt, only one percent have been evacuated. It can be said that we have become victims," Faisal added.

He said that there were still at least 3,200 Indonesian students in that country who had not yet been evacuated.

Another student, Fitra Matopan, said that there were about 100 students from Riau province who had not yet been evacuated. "So far, no student from Riau has been arrested. But we are very scared with the worsening situation in Egypt," he said.

He called on the Indonesian government to immediately evacuate Indonesian citizens. "The government should have followed the step of neighboring Malaysia which had evacuated 11 thousands of its citizens from Egypt," he added.

He said that the government was too slow in evacuating its citizens where so far it had only returned about 800 of about 6,000 citizens staying in Egypt.

On Saturday, the Indonesian Embassy in Egypt said it was in the process of evacuating Indonesian college students from outside Cairo as the political situation continues to deteriorate.

"The embassy will pick up students who are living outside Cairo for the third round of evacuation efforts," said the embassy's evacuation team leader, Colonel R. Isgunanto, on Saturday.

A third evacuation flight is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Sunday evening.

Isgunanto said the embassy picked up students from outlying provinces to join the third flight.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Association of Indonesian School and University Students (PPMI) in Egypt, Falahuddin Nursalim, said that students outside Cairo had difficulties reaching the capital city due to road blocks.

Besides Cairo, some Indonesian students have also been placed by the Al Azhar University to study in its branches in Alexandria (221 north of Cairo), Mansurah (126 km from Cairo), Tanta (92 km from Cairo) and Damanhur (156 km from Cairo).

Athan Tegun said there were 42 students from Alexandria who left the country in the second evacuation group on Thursday.

The Embassy`s information chief, Iwan Wijaya Mulyatno, said that all Indonesians in Egypt are safe and secure.

Through Saturday afternoon in Cairo, the number of Indonesian citizens who registered for evacuation had reached 781.

Antara

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