Rohingya refugees walking after being rescued from a boat after being anchored for a week off the coast of Labuhan Haji in Southern Aceh province on Oct 24, 2024. - AFP
MEDAN: The Navy has said it thwarted an attempt to traffic 146 Rohingya refugees to Aceh after they disembarked from a large ship on a beach in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, on Thursday (Oct 24).
The Rohingya refugees were apprehended as they were boarding a truck that officials said had been waiting for them at Dewi Indah beach.
Medan Immigration Detention Center head Sarsaralos Sivakkar said the presence of the truck indicated the Rohingya refugees’ arrival had been expected.
“We are currently investigating the trafficking of these Rohingya refugees and are pursuing the syndicate involved,” Sarsaralos told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said the truck’s driver and two assistants had been detained by the Navy for their suspected involvement in the operation. All three were apprehended alongside the Rohingya refugees boarding the truck.
The police are searching for a man named Syaiful from Aceh, who they believed was involved in the refugees’ arrival at Dewi Indah beach.
“Syaiful was the contact [for the arrival],” said Deli Serdang Police chief Sr. Comr. Raphael Sandhy Cahya Priambodo. Second Lt. Olpen Situmorang, the commander of the Pantai Labu Navy Post, said the three Indonesian suspects were identified as AJ, a 40-year-old resident of Medan; SG, 20, from South Aceh; and RS, 15, from Aceh Singkil.
According to driver AJ’s statement, their only task was to transport the Rohingya refugees from Dewi Indah beach to Aceh, for which they were promised Rp 1.5 million (US$96).
Olpen said the three Indonesian suspects had been handed over to the police for questioning, while the Rohingya refugees were being held at the Pantai Labu district office hall in Deli Serdang.
“The total number of Rohingya refugees accommodated at the district is 146, consisting of 64 adult men, 62 women and 20 children,” he said.
Olpen said the refugees had disembarked from a large ship off Dewi Indah beach around 3:30am on Thursday. By the time the authorities arrived, the refugees were boarding the truck.
The placement of the Rohingya refugees in the district office hall sparked protests from local residents.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Pantai Labu District Office on Thursday night, opposing the accommodation of the refugees there.
Azizur Rahman, Pantai Labu district administration secretary, said the administration was coordinating with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) regarding the handling of the Rohingya refugees.
He affirmed that the district was providing assistance to the refugees within their capabilities.
“We are providing food and water to help the Rohingya refugees,” he said.
Also on Thursday, 152 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, were rescued in the waters off South Aceh regency after their boat languished at sea for days, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.
The boat was anchored about 2km off the coast of South Aceh for days while officials decided whether to let them land, but they were finally brought ashore on Thursday afternoon.
"UNHCR would like to thank the authorities and local communities for the humanitarian spirit and life-saving efforts as well as the landing permits given to around 152 refugees," UNHCR's Faisal Rahman told AFP on Friday.
The mostly Muslim Rohingya people are heavily persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.
Rohingya arrivals in Indonesia tend to follow a cyclical pattern, slowing during the stormy months and picking back up when sea conditions calm, as they have in recent weeks.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar, calling instead on neighbouring countries to share the burden and resettle 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. But others say their patience has been tested, claiming the Rohingya consume scarce resources and occasionally come into conflict with locals. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
