Indonesia lets 76 Rohingya refugees disembark for relocation

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: Dozens of Rohingya refugees who arrived by boat at a tourist beach in western Indonesia have been relocated to a temporary shelter after locals allowed their landing, an official said Thursday.

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.

The latest group of 76 refugees, including four children, were moved to tents on a football field in East Aceh town of Aceh province on Wednesday night, hours after arriving the beach.

Authorities initially blocked the refugees from disembarking to prevent them from escaping and because some local residents opposed their presence in town, according to local administration official Iskandar, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

After several hours, “a consensus was reached… to allow the refugees to disembark,” Iskandar told AFP.

Representatives from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration had travelled to the area to negotiate with local residents and authorities.

Iskandar said that while the temporary shelter’s capacity was limited, it was still “adequate as a temporary refuge”.

The refugees, who appeared exhausted but not in critical condition, said they had travelled for days by sea from Myanmar, he added.

Rohingya arrivals in Indonesia tend to follow a cyclical pattern, slowing during the stormy winter months and picking back up when sea conditions calm down.

More than 260 Rohingya refugees arrived on a beach in Aceh earlier this month.

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 the Rohingya who arrive on its shores.

Many Acehnese are sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims but others decline their presence, claiming the Rohingya consume scarce resources and occasionally come into conflict with locals.

-AFP