Indonesia: Hundreds more Rohingya land on Aceh beaches
December 10, 2023
Around 300-400 Rohingya refugees, including many women and children, landed on beaches Sunday in Indonesia's northeastern Aceh province after spending weeks at sea, the latest in a series of arrivals mainly originating from camps in Bangladesh.
The Rohingya arrived in two boats, one landing at the beach near Lamreh village in Aceh Besar Regency, and the other landing at Blang Raya village at Pidie Regency several miles to the southeast.
One of the Rohingya told AFP news agency that their boat had been at sea for six weeks, had started sinking, and that the refugees had no food or water left.
Indonesian authorities on Sunday kept the refugees near the beaches where they landed, as they decide how to provide support.
Authorities and locals in recent weeks have tried to prevent the refugee boats from landing, saying the local communities in Aceh do not have resources to support the steadily climbing number of arrivals.
Before counting Sunday's new arrivals, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) estimated that 1,200 Rohingya have landed in Indonesia since November.
Indonesia blames 'human trafficking'
On Friday, President Joko Widodo said he suspects human traffickers are behind the recent influx, adding the "government will take firm action against perpetrators of human trafficking."
Widodo has said Indonesia would provide temporary assistance to the refugees, albeit contingent on "the interests of the local community."
The Rohingya are a persecuted Muslim minority who were driven out of western Myanmar during a 2017 military crackdown in what the UN called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."
An estimated 1 million Rohingya have sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh, mainly living in sprawling camps at Cox's Bazar on the southeast coast.
However, the Rohingya living in the squalid camps say they have no access to jobs or education and are frequently harassed by criminal gangs.
Those who are willing and able to escape and attempt to reach Indonesia or Malaysia by sea generally make the crossing at the end of the year, when conditions are favorable.
ss/wmr (AP, AFP, Reuters)