Indonesia prevents Myanmar's Muslim refugee boats from reaching shore
Indonesian police and fisherman have started patrolling parts of the country’s westernmost province to prevent boats of Myanmar's Muslim refugees from reaching the shore.
The decision comes as thousands of Myanmar’s Rohingya province refugees keep fleeing to the neighboring countries including Indonesia and Malaysia in search of safety.
The aim of the patrolling is to intercept and stop Rohingya boats before they reach Indonesian waters.
As sailing conditions eased this month, more than half a dozen boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya people from Bangladesh arrived in Aceh province, including some that locals tried to turn back to sea.
Police in East Aceh, a regency of more than 350,000 people that saw 36 Rohingya arrive on Sunday, said they have now imposed round-the-clock patrols.
The force "has instructed its subordinate police precincts with coastal areas to intensify surveillance, both along the coastline and in the waters of the Malacca Strait, to prevent the entry of Rohingya immigrants", it said in a statement.
"The police are patrolling 24/7 to prevent Rohingya immigrants from landing in East Aceh," said police chief Andy Rahmansyah.
The move has raised concerns that Indonesia will be the next country to contain its borders against the Muslim refugees of Rohingya.
Thailand and Malaysia have already toughened their borders and deterred their arrival.
According to officials on Monday, almost 1,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar have arrived by boat in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh in the last six days.
The refugees included women and children who were afloat for days.
“We thank the authorities and local communities who have received and granted landing permits for them and in the future we hope that this spirit of solidarity and humanity will continue to be extended to refugees who need assistance and protection,” the the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement.
More than a million Rohingya have fled Myanmar since the 1990s, most in the wake of a 2017 military crackdown that forced many to settle in camps in Bangladesh.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the United Nations refugee convention and says it is not compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar.
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