BANDA ACEH: Indonesia will rescue more than 100 Rohingya refugees on Thursday after their boat languished for days off the country’s western coast, local officials told AFP.
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The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia’s Aceh Province.
The boat carrying refugees including women and children has been anchored off of South Aceh district since last week but was brought to within a mile (1.6 kilometres) of the coast and given supplies on Monday, while officials made a decision on their future.
“As for the Rohingya currently stranded off the South Aceh coast, they will be brought ashore tomorrow,” said Meurah Budiman, the head of Aceh’s regional office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry.
“For now, they will be temporarily placed in South Aceh. The government will provide temporary shelter.”
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) will handle the facilities and infrastructure for the Rohingya, Meurah said.
UNHCR protection associate in Indonesia Faisal Rahman confirmed to AFP the plan is to bring the refugees to land on Thursday.
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The local government and community have agreed to keep the refugees for a week until they can be relocated to a location in Lhokseumawe, said acting South Aceh head Yuhelmi, who like many in Indonesia goes by one name.
Lhokseumawe, the second largest city in Aceh, is more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) away, where other Rohingya refugee arrivals are staying in temporary shelters.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar, calling instead on neighbouring countries to share the burden and resettle Rohingyas who arrive on its shores.
Many Acehnese, who themselves have memories of decades of bloody conflict, are sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims.
But others say their patience has been tested, claiming the Rohingyas consume scarce resources and occasionally come into conflict with locals.
In December 2023, hundreds of students forced the relocation of more than 100 Rohingya refugees, storming a function hall in Aceh where they were sheltering and kicking their belongings.
-AFP
-NewStraitsTime