Ministry says it tackles thousands of cases a year to protect Indonesians overseas

Blaming the government for not doing enough to protect Indonesians living and working overseas was unfair and baseless as the Foreign Ministry usually tackled 42,000 cases a year to help them, the ministry official said Thursday.

Ministry's director for citizen protection Teguh Wardoyo said the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) APIK should see the number of cases handled by the Foreign Ministry before deciding wether or not it should urge the government to protect its citizens abroad.

"All that we have done (to help Indonesians overseas), we have done with all our heart," he said. "Handling 125 cases a day is not easy."

LBH APIK should also be given the same question about its contribution to help Indonesian people abroad, he said.

However, Teguh admitted there were cases where Indonesians living and working abroad lost their patience when they felt the solution from the embassies did not work quickly due to a legal issue in the country they live.