Indonesian students force Rohingya refugees from temporary shelter
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Rohingya Muslims return to their wooden boat after receiving water and food in Ulee Madon beach in North Aceh.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JAKARTA – Hundreds of university students in Indonesia’s westernmost province stormed a temporary shelter for more than a hundred Rohingya refugees on Dec 27, forcing them to leave in the latest rejection of the persecuted Myanmar minority
More than 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on the shores of Aceh province since mid-November, in what the United Nations says is the biggest influx in eight years.
Some of their boats have faced rejection by locals and in some cases have been returned to sea.
The students, many wearing jackets with different universities’ insignias, entered a government function hall in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, where 137 Rohingya refugees were staying.
The students demanded that the refugees be moved to a local immigration office so they could be deported, according to footage seen by AFP.
It also showed students chanting “kick them out” as well as “reject Rohingyas in Aceh”, and kicking the Rohingyas’ belongings.
Some women and children were in tears, while men who had been praying looked to the ground.
The protesters were also involved in a scuffle with the police who were guarding the frightened refugees, but officers ultimately permitted their removal by the students, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
The students burned tyres and prepared trucks for the Rohingyas to be moved. The police helped them board before they were taken to another government office nearby, the journalist observed.
Banda Aceh police did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
“We protested because we don’t agree with the Rohingyas who keep coming here,” 23-year-old Kholilullah, a university student who goes by one name, told AFP.
Many Acehnese, who themselves have memories of decades of bloody conflict, are sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims.
But others say their patience has been tested, claiming the Rohingyas consume scarce resources and occasionally come into conflict with locals.
“Acehnese used to welcome them, but as we know, there are traffickers who smuggled Rohingyas into Aceh… So, we as students support the Acehnese’s decision,” university student Muhammad Khalis said.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the United Nations 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 Rohingyas who arrive on its shores. AFP
