More than 260 Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia
ACEH
More than 260 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, arrived in Indonesia's easternmost province of Aceh after floating at sea for days, an official said on Jan. 6.
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.
An East Aceh official, Iskandar, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said this latest group of refugees arrived on a beach in the region's town of West Peureulak on Jan. 5 night around 10:25 p.m. local time.
"There are 264 of them, 117 men and 147 women," Iskandar told AFP yesterday, adding that in the group, around 30 were children.
He said they had initially been on two boats, one of which had sunk off the coast while the second managed to move closer to shore.
They could then walk to the shore when the tide was low, he said.
"They told me they were rejected in Malaysia," Iskandar said, adding that the local government has not decided where to move the Rohingya refugees.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the U.N. refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar, calling instead on neighboring countries to share the burden and resettle the Rohingya who arrive on its shores.
Many Acehnese, who have memories of decades of bloody conflict themselves, are sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims.
