170 Rohingya refugees arrive in Indonesia amid fear of reprisal from locals

Medan (Indonesia), Dec 31 (AP) Some 170 likely Rohingya refugees, mostly hungry and weak women and children, were found on a beach in Indonesia's North Sumatra province after weeks at sea, officials said on Sunday.

The group arrived on a beach at Kuala Besar, a fishing village in Langkat district, late on Saturday, said the village head, Muhammad Amiruddin.

Villagers who saw the group of Rohingya Muslims helped them with food and water as they waited for further instructions from immigration and local officials in North Sumatra province, he said.

However, residents around the beach hesitated over having the refugees in their villages, Amiruddin said.

“We helped them as they look very weak from hunger and dehydration,” Amiruddin said, “But many residents cannot accept them to live in our village because they will only bring problems later.” A mob of students on Wednesday attacked the basement of a local community hall in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, where 137 Rohingya were taking shelter.

The incident drew an outcry from human rights group and the UN refugee agency, which said the attack left the refugees shocked and traumatised.

Indonesia's navy said on Thursday that it forcibly pushed a boat packed with refugees back to international waters after the vessel approached the shores of Aceh province a day earlier.

It's unclear whether the refugees who arrived late Saturday in neighbouring North Sumatra province were from the same boat that was pushed away by the navy on Wednesday.

Indonesia has appealed to the international community for help and intensified patrols of its waters due to a sharp rise in Rohingya refugees leaving overcrowded camps in Bangladesh since November. Over 1,500 Rohingya have arrived in Aceh and faced some hostility from fellow Muslims.

Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations' 1951 Refugee Convention so is not obligated to accept the Rohingya. So far, refugees in distress have received at least temporary accommodation.

Muslims comprise nearly 90 per cent of Indonesia's 277 million people, and Indonesia once tolerated such landings, while Thailand and Malaysia pushed refugee boats away. But there has been a surge of anti-Rohingya sentiment this year, especially in Aceh, where residents accuse the Rohingya of poor behaviour and creating a burden.

The growing hostility of some Indonesians toward the Rohingya has put pressure on President Joko Widodo's government to take action.

About 740,000 Rohingya were resettled in Bangladesh after fleeing their homes in Myanmar to escape a brutal counterinsurgency campaign by security forces. But the camps in Bangladesh are squalid, with surging gang violence and rampant hunger, leading many to flee again. (AP)