REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) urges the government to evacuate Indonesian nationals from Syria, following the escalation in violence in the Middle Eastern country. There are up to 12,500 Indonesians in the heating country. 

"The foreign ministry must consider effective measures to save more than 12,500 Indonesians staying in that country, by immediately evacuating them," chairman of Commission I of DPR, Mahfudz Siddiq, said on Monday.

He suggested that they can be moved to Syria`s neighboring countries temporarily. "We need to pressure President Bashar al Assad to stop violence against civilians," he also said.

"Indonesia must be able to proactively find a peaceful solution to end the turbulence in Syria and encourage a democratic transition," he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marty M Natalegawa earlier reiterated his call for an end to the escalating violence against civilians in Syria. Indonesia also called for a political process in Syria following the failure of the United Nations to issue a resolution on the country, the foreign ministry said recently. Marty that this during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in New York on Friday, February 10.

"Indonesia has so far emphasized the need to end the violence and to conduct a political process to respect the Syrian people`s aspirations," the minister said, reflecting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s recent statement on Syria.

The Indonesian and Turkish foreign affairs ministers stressed the significance of the roles to be played by both nations, as democratic and Muslim-majority states, in responding to the developments in Syria. They also explored the possibility of organising an international meeting on the Syrian crisis.

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