BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: A boat believed to be carrying over a hundred Rohingya refugees landed in Indonesia’s westernmost province on Thursday.
UN official said, that this is part of the biggest influx into the Muslim-majority country since 2015.
The Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, face severe persecution in Myanmar, prompting thousands to embark on perilous sea voyages each year in search of safety, often aboard fragile vessels bound for Malaysia or Indonesia.
Faisal Rahman, a protection associate with the UN Refugee Agency, confirmed to AFP that the landing took place on Thursday morning in the vicinity of Kuala Parek village in East Aceh. Although the precise number of refugees is yet to be verified, local authorities estimate it to be around 137 individuals.
Between mid-November and late January, a total of 1,752 refugees, predominantly comprising women and children, arrived in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, according to data from the United Nations agency. However, some vessels have been turned away at sea as attitudes towards the Rohingya fluctuate, particularly in conservative Indonesian regions.
While many Acehnese, drawing from their own experiences of conflict, express sympathy for the Rohingyas, others voice concerns over resource scarcity and occasional conflicts with locals. In December, hundreds of university students in Aceh protested at a temporary shelter housing over 100 Rohingya refugees, leading to their relocation.
Indonesia, not being a signatory to the UN refugee convention, maintains that it is not obliged to accept Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
The UN Refugee Agency reports that in 2022, over 3,500 Rohingya attempted the perilous journey to Southeast Asian countries, with an estimated 1,000 fatalities or disappearances recorded since the beginning of that year.
