The authorities are not going to provide food or shelter.
Nearly 200 Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar, most of them women and children, have been stranded on a beach in western Indonesia. The local authorities announced that no new refugees will be accepted and they will not be given tents or food.
“They will be placed in their landing place. This time, the government will not cover any costs,” he announced MuslimDirector of Pidi Social Welfare Office in Aceh Province.
Like many Indonesians, Muslim uses only one name. According to him, there is no more room for new arrivals in Pidi’s shelters.
More than a thousand Rohingya refugees have arrived in the area during November. The authorities and local residents have threatened to drive the newcomers back to the sea.
Indonesian president Either Widodo said earlier that refugees are transported to Indonesia by a human trafficking network and promised strict measures to eradicate the phenomenon.
Indonesia has not joined the UN Refugee Convention and says it has no obligation to accept refugees from Myanmar. Many other countries in the region have also closed their borders to Rohingya refugees.
In recent years, nearly a million Rohingya have fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh. Thousands have embarked on the perilous sea journey, aiming for Malaysia or Indonesia. The Rohingya are predominantly Muslim and have been persecuted in their homeland.
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