The Aceh Fishermen Association has called on the Foreign Ministry to provide legal aid to 10 Aceh fishermen facing two-year jail sentences in Myanmar for illegal fishing.

"We are appealing to the Foreign Ministry to coordinate with the Indonesian Embassy in Myanmar and lobby the Myanmarese military junta to impose sanctions as light as possible on the fishermen, because they had no intention of fishing in that country's waters and were using traditional fishing methods," association head Adli Abdullah told The Jakarta Post here Sunday.

Adli said the fishermen were among the 15 Acehnese who with their two fishing vessels KM Rahmad and KM Melois went missing in Indonesian waters bordering Myanmar in February this year.

"Following a tireless search to India and Sri Lanka and Myanmar over the past five months, one of the fishermen sent a fax to his brother in Meulaboh on July 11, 2008, informing that they were being detained in Myeik Prison in Myanmar and are facing two-year jail sentences for illegal fishing," he said.

The 10 were named as ship captain Rasmal, Sukardi, Herman, Musriadi, Dipijon, Zakaria, Mansyur, Wanto, Faisal and Hendra, while the remaining five were still missing.

According to the fax sent by Rasmal, they were arrested on Feb. 8, 2008.

Adli said the prosecution against the fishermen was unfair because they had no intention of entering Myanmarese waters to fish and did not have with them any navigational device to know whether they were trespassing in Myanmarese territory.

"The problem is they were stranded in Myanmar waters because of high tidal waves. It would be fair if they were deported in accordance with the International Maritime Agreement," he said, adding that the Aceh waters bordered Indian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian and Myanmarese territories and that many Aceh fishermen had in the past been arrested by Indian, Malaysian and Sri Lankan authorities for similar violations.

Head of the Aceh provincial fisheries and maritime resources office Razali Muhammad said they would deliver a letter to the Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Myanmar to provide legal aid for the fishermen.

"We fear the Indonesian Embassy has no special funds to deal with such matters or to hire Myanmarese lawyers to accompany the fishermen during their trial.

"The provincial government will allocate a part of its annual budget to handle such cases overseas starting January, 2009," he said.

Popular

KPU allows elected lawmakers to run in regional head elections

Is Indonesia really ready to embrace dual citizenship?

Young Garuda misses last chance to qualify for Paris Olympics