Over 100 Rohingya land on Indonesian beach
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: More than 100 Rohingya Muslims traveling in a wooden boat have landed on an Indonesian beach, the second group in as many days to arrive in the Southeast Asian archipelago’s northernmost province of Aceh.
The group of 61 men, 36 women and 22 children that landed in North Aceh district’s Bluka Teubai village on Wednesday morning were taken to the fishermen’s hall and will stay there while waiting for further information from local authorities, said Nawafil Mahyudha, head of the Dewantara subdistrict.
They came a day after 110 weak and hungry Rohingya refugees also landed in North Aceh after traveling by boat for more than a month. They were aiming for Malaysia after leaving Myanmar, but were stranded in Aceh’s waters.
In March, 114 Rohingya refugees were also found on a beach in the neighboring Bireuen district.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when the Buddhist-majority nation’s military launched operations in response to attacks by a rebel group. Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of Rohingya homes.
Groups of Rohingya have attempted to leave the camps in Bangladesh by sea to seek a better life in other Muslimmajority countries in Southeast Asia. Malaysia has been a common destination for the boats, even though many Rohingya refugees who land there face detention.
Although neighboring Indonesia is not a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN refugee agency said that a 2016 presidential regulation provides a legal framework governing the treatment of refugees on boats in distress near Indonesia and helps them disembark in the country.