As a party to the UN refugee convention, Indonesia maintains that it cannot be forced to accept refugees from Myanmar and instead calls on its neighbors to relocate the Rohingya who come to its borders.
After days at sea, more than 260 Rohingya refugees-including women and children-arrived in Aceh, Indonesia’s easternmost province, an official said Monday.
The Rohingya, an ethnic group that is predominantly Muslim, face severe persecution in Myanmar, and many of them risk their lives every year to travel to Malaysia or Indonesia on perilous sea voyages.
This latest wave of migrants arrived on a beach in the region’s town of West Peureulak on Sunday night at approximately 10:20 p.m. local time (15:25 p.m. GMT Sunday), according to Iskandar, an East Aceh official who, like many Indonesians, goes by a single name.
Iskandar told AFP on Monday, “There are 264 of them – – 117 men and 147 women”, noting that about 30 of the group were minors.
According to him, they had started out on two boats, one of which has sunk off the coast and the other had made it closer to land.
When the tide was low, he continued, they might walk to the coast.
Iskandar added that the local administration has not yet determined where to relocate the Rohingya refugees. “They told me they were rejected in Malaysia”, he said.
Arrivals of Rohingya in Indonesia typically follow a cyclical pattern, increasing as sea conditions improve and decreasing during stormy months.
After their boat capsized off the coast of East Aceh in November, almost 100 refugees were saved.
After being tied off the coast of South Aceh district for days as authorities considered allowing them to land, 152 Rohingya migrants were eventually brought ashore in October.
Many Acehnese sympathize with the suffering of their fellow Muslims since they have experienced decades of brutal conflict themselves.
Others, however, say they have run out of patience since the Rohingya use up limited resources and often clash with locals.
