The local population did not allow the Rohingya Muslims, who were trying to enter Indonesia in large numbers, to get off the ship. 140 starving Rohingya Muslims were trying to disembark a wooden boat about 1 mile (0.60 kilometers) off the coast of Aceh province in northern Indonesia. Among them were mainly women and children who were not allowed to disembark by local residents.
Three Rohingya died during the nearly two-week journey from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh to the shores of Labuhan Haji in the southern district of Aceh, local police said. Authorities admitted 11 Rohingya to a government hospital since Sunday after their health deteriorated.
‘We don’t want riots to break out here’
Mohammed Jabal, head of the fishing community in southern Aceh, said: “Our fishing community did not allow them to land here because we do not want what happened in other places to happen here. Wherever they went, there was unrest among the local population. It is ” A large banner hanging at the port read: “The people of South Aceh Regency reject the arrival of Rohingya refugees to the region.”
Also read: “JMM people support Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Jamshedpur.
According to the Aceh police report, the group of Rohingya Muslims left Cox’s Bazar on October 9 to head to Malaysia. Some passengers on the ship had allegedly paid money to travel to other countries. Jabal said local residents have given food to the group. In addition, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also provided them with food.
The ship had left Bangladesh.
According to police, the ship had 216 people on board when it left Bangladesh, with 50 of them reportedly disembarking in the Indonesian province of Riau. Police arrested three human trafficking suspects.
About 10% of Rohingya Muslims live in Bangladesh as refugees from Myanmar. These include approximately 740,000 people who fled Myanmar after brutal violence in 2017. The Rohingya minority in Myanmar faces widespread discrimination and most are not granted citizenship.
Also read: Why are Rohingyas now fleeing Bangladesh for fear of their lives and in which new countries are they taking refuge?
Like Thailand and Malaysia, Indonesia is also not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and is not obliged to accept them (refugees). However, this country generally provides temporary shelter to refugees in crisis.
