TWO RI CITIZENS' EVACUATION FROM HAITI HAMPERED BY PASSPORT PROBLEM

New York, Jan 14 (ANTARA) - The evacuation of two Indonesians who were in Haiti when last Tuesday's earthquake devastated the Caribbean island has been delayed because one of them has to wait for a new passport, an Indonesian official said.

The two Indonesians, namely Endang Satriyani and Yogi Anggoro, are volunteers at the UN Stabilisation Mission (MINUSTAH) in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

Hasan Kleib, charge d`affaires at the office of the Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said on Thursday Endang Satriyani had lost her bag (in which she had put her passport) in the rush to save herself when the earthquake struck.

"Endang and Yogi were able to get out of the collapsed MINUSTAH building. However, Endang's bag and passport were still in the building," Hasan said.

He said the Indonesian Permanent Representative's Office in New York would help Endang by issuing her a new passport so that she and Yogi could soon be evacuated from Port-au-Prince and return to Indonesia.
Apart from the passport problem, Hasan added, the two Indonesians' evacuation would also depend on MINUSTAH's cooperation because the institution was among a few international bodies expected to tackle the post-disaster situation in Haiti.

"We will also coordinate with MINUSTAH and other related parties to expedite the evacuation of the two Indonesian citizens," he said.

The office of Indonesia`s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York on Thursday said five Indonesians were in Haiti when the earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale struck the area on Tuesday (Jan 12).

Two of the five Indonesians who were found unharmed were Endang Satriyani and Yogi Anggoro while the other three were still missing.

Hasan said a member of his staff had managed to contact Yogi through an Indonesian working at the UN mission in Liberia, Luigi Pralangga.

Luigi told Hasan's subordinate that there were three other Indonesians, all women, in Port-au-Prince.

"Yogi had also admitted he had recently met them in Port-au-Prince. The three women came from Bali but their names were still unknown. A report said they were working at the Caribee Hotel in Port-au-Prince," Hasan said.

The office of the Indonesian Permanent Representative in New York, along with the MINUSTAH`s office in New York and Port-au-Prince officials were still monitoring developments in the search for the three missing Indonesians.

According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, more than 100 UN staff were inside the MINUSTAH building, including UN Special Representative to Haiti, Hedi Annabi, and his deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa when the temblor happened. It was believed they were still trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building.