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Paskibraka team candidate never held Indonesian citizenship: Minister
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All set -- President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo inaugurates Paskibraka team members who will raise the national flag during an Independence Day ceremony on Wednesday. (Tempo/-)
G
loria Natapradja Hamel, an Indonesia-born and bred student from Depok, West Java, whose inauguration as a Paskibraka flag-hoisting team member was canceled over a citizenship issue, was not an Indonesian citizen, a minister has claimed.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly pointed out that based on Law No.12/2006 on Indonesian citizenship, children under 18 years old are allowed to hold dual citizenship. He said, however, that no application for Indonesian citizen had been lodged by Gloria’s parents.
Born to an Indonesian mother and French father, Gloria is a French passport holder, the minister said.
Yasonna said the 2006 Citizenship Law stipulated that an application for Indonesian citizenship for a child of another nationality must be lodged at a maximum of four years before the child turned 18. The deadline for requesting citizenship for Gloria expired on Aug. 1, 2014 and she was therefore not entitled to request citizenship at this stage, he added.
"If she wants to be an Indonesian citizen, she can apply after she is 18. There is still an opportunity for her to request Indonesian citizenship," Yasonna said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.
Gloria was scheduled to participate in a flag-hoisting ceremony to celebrate Independence Day at the State Palace on Wednesday.
Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi, whose ministry oversaw the Paskibraka selection, claimed his ministry's officials found out about Gloria’s French citizenship at the last minute.
In a last-ditch effort to keep her position in the elite flag-hoisting team, Gloria wrote a personal letter to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, declaring herself an Indonesian citizen. In response, more than 20,000 people signed a petition on Change.org supporting Gloria’s right to be on the Paskibraka team. (liz/ebf)
