140 Rohingya Muslims Stranded Off Indonesia’s Coast as Locals Reject Landing

About 140 Rohingya Muslims, predominantly women and children, are stranded on a wooden boat off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province, with local residents refusing to allow them to land, The Associate Press reported yesterday.

The boat has been anchored about one mile from Labuhan Haji since Friday, following a nearly two-week journey from Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Tragically, three individuals died during the trip.

Local fishing community chief Muhammad Jabal stated that residents are wary of the Rohingya due to past incidents causing unrest. Despite the refusal to allow them ashore, locals have provided food, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has also assisted.

The group originally departed with 216 people, with some disembarking in Riau province. Indonesian authorities have arrested three suspects for alleged people smuggling related to this incident. The Rohingya, facing severe discrimination in Myanmar, have fled to Bangladesh, where around 1 million currently reside as refugees. Indonesia, not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, typically offers temporary shelter to distressed refugees.