Rohingya refugees sit at a park near the governor's office in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. Two boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya Muslims, including emaciated women and children, arrived on Sunday at Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh where they faced rejection from local communities who are protesting against the increasing numbers of refugees that have entered the region over the past few weeks. - AP
BANDA ACEH (Bernama-Antara): The fresh flow of Rohingya refugees into the Indonesian territory continued as 50 new refugees arrived at Seuneubok Baroh Village in Darul Aman Sub-district, East Aceh District, Aceh Province, this week.
East Aceh Police Chief Adjunct Sen Coms Andy Rahmansyah stated that a vessel reportedly carried them to Kuala Idi Cut Beach. Shortly after the refugees disembarked, the ship returned to sea.
These Rohingya refugees hid in the bushes shortly before being found by locals at around 3.45 am local time. Seven of them attempted to escape, but they were arrested and reunited with 43 others, he remarked.
"All of them are males. They are currently secured at the Idi Cut fish landing facility (TPI)," he remarked, adding that he had yet to know the steps to be taken by the Aceh Provincial Government regarding the handling of the refugees.
This matter would firstly be coordinated with the representatives of UNHCR and International Organisation for Migration (IOM), he stated.
ANTARA reported earlier that the flows of Rohingya refugees into Aceh have repeatedly occurred since November 2023.
Prior to their arrivals in East Aceh, several hundred Rohingya refugees had landed in Sabang City and the districts of Aceh Besar and Pidie.
The Aceh administration's efforts to shelter the refugees, who had arrived earlier, were met with resistance from the locals.
Regarding the current wave of Rohingya refugee arrivals, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had stated earlier that the government was temporarily accommodating those who have entered the Indonesian territory.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi recently called for a political solution to the Rohingya issue, which is considered an inseparable part of resolving the Myanmar crisis.
During a meeting on the Rohingya issue on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the United States, Marsudi underlined that the future of Rohingya refugees remains uncertain.
At the same time, the global situation and conditions in Myanmar have made the issue more difficult to resolve.
"Resolving the Rohingya issue should be part of resolving the political crisis in Myanmar," she stated.
She noted that the violence that continues to occur in Myanmar due to the conflict between the military junta and civilians has forced Rohingya people to leave the country, and many of them landed in Indonesia.
"To this end, I invite the international community to work together to stop the conflict and restore democracy in Myanmar, so that Rohingya refugees can return to their homes, namely in Myanmar," she remarked while delivering an online press statement from Geneva. - Bernama-Antara
