Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Prabowo Subianto lauded the Thai government for helping facilitate the repatriation of nearly 1,000 Indonesian citizens (WNI) who fell victim to online scams.
“I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the Thai government for its assistance and close cooperation in facilitating the repatriation of Indonesian citizens who were victims of online scams,” Prabowo said in a joint press statement with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul at the Merdeka Palace here on Monday.
Prabowo said the number of Indonesian citizens repatriated with support from the Thai government had reached nearly 1,000 people, making the assistance highly meaningful for Indonesia.
“The number is quite significant, approaching nearly 1,000 Indonesian citizens. This assistance is very meaningful,” Prabowo remarked.
According to the president, the successful repatriation of the victims reflects the close relations between Indonesia and Thailand, especially in addressing transnational crimes.
During the meeting, Prabowo and Charnvirakul also agreed to strengthen political and security cooperation, especially in tackling various forms of cross-border crime.
The cooperation includes handling online scams, which have become one of the forms of transnational crime receiving attention from both countries.
Prabowo said Indonesia and Thailand would also strengthen information and intelligence sharing, joint investigations, and law enforcement coordination to dismantle transnational crime networks.
“We also support the Transnational Referral Mechanism (TRM) development as a breakthrough to accelerate the protection, identification, and safe and dignified repatriation of victims of transnational crimes,” Prabowo said.
In March last year, 554 Indonesians had been rescued from online scam syndicates in Myawaddy, Myanmar.
The rescued Indonesians, who mostly originated from North Sumatra, Bangka Belitung, West Java, Jakarta, and North Sulawesi, crossed the Myanmar border to Maesot City in Thailand on Monday (March 17).
The government noted that the stealth rescue operation was successful due to intensive coordination between Indonesian and Thai authorities, which ensured the prompt retrieval of the Indonesians from Myanmar.
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Translator: Aditya, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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