AMBON IMMIGRATION PROBING MYANMARESE MIGRANT

Ambon, Maluku, June 22 (ANTARA) - Ambon immigration authorities are investigating a 40-year-old Myanmarese man who has been staying here illegally for seven years, a spokesman said.

"He will definitely be deported. In the meantime, we will also investigate whether other Myanmarese are staying here illegally," Hatomi, head of the Ambon immigration office, said here on Monday.

The police arrested the Myanmarese named Sokim after they suspected that the father of two children was an alien, Hatomi said.

He said Sokim who used to be a member of a fishing boat's crew had admitted he was a Myanmarese but had not been able to return to his country because he did not know how to make the necessary arrangements.

Sokim stayed at Halong for some time and later moved to Poka in Teluk Ambon sub district, he said.

Hatomi said many foreign fishermen had been staying in Ambon, Tual and other districts in Maluku province after the fishing companies they used to work for ceased went out of business.

"Most of the foreign nationals are staying with local people whom they are acquainted with. Some of them got married to local women," he said.

Meanwhile, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said a total of 1,928 migrants have entered Indonesia since early this year.

"The migrants consisted of 441 refugees and 1,487 asylum seekers," UNHCR Assistant Protection National Officer Nurul Qoiriah said at a seminar commemorating World Refugee Day in Jakarta recently.