Citizens in Libya were evacuated Start Today

Foreign Ministry estimates there are 875 citizens in Libya.

A man in Turkey welcomed the relatives who fled from Libya (AP Photo / Ibrahim Usta)

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The Indonesian government today began evacuating citizens from Libya because of the deteriorating security situation in the country.

They will be flown to the capital of Tunisia, Tunis, to further consider whether to repatriated back to Indonesia or to wait until the situation is safe.


Foreign Ministry spokesman, Michael Tene, said the evacuation will be made soon on this day. Evacuation of the first wave will use airlines from Tunis Air to bring the citizens of the city of Tripoli.


"The plane will land in Tunis at half past seven in the evening local time, then of Tunis will be addressed later, to return to Indonesia," said Tene, Friday, February 25, 2011,


Foreign Ministry estimates there are 875 citizens in Libya. A total of 550 of whom work in the formal sector, 130 students, and the rest are Indonesians who work in the informal sector. Among the vast majority were workers from a construction company PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA), who built a shopping center in Tripoli.




Tene said that all employees of WIKA numbering 201 persons will be included in the evacuation of the first wave, and the rest are other citizens. The number of evacuated, said Tene, has not been established, the data collection process is still ongoing.


"The capacity of the aircraft between 250-260 people, so who were evacuated ranged in number," says Tene.


Tene said the decision to evacuate citizens to Tunis by evacuation task force led by Hassan Wirajuda has gone through a variety of careful consideration. So the choice to bring the citizens in Tunis is the best decision is required at this time.