Indonesian fishermen on Friday rescued 76 Rohingya Muslims stranded off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh Province, authorities said, in the latest attempt by members of the persecuted ethnic group to flee Myanmar by sea.
The group of eight children, 25 women and 43 men was taken ashore in their wooden boat on Friday afternoon.
It was unclear how long they had been at sea, said Riza Yulianto, the police chief of Bireuen Regency in Aceh on the island of Sumatra.
The Rohingya told authorities that they wanted to reach Australia, the Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
The agency said it was coordinating with the local government to provide temporary shelter, adding that seven people were given medical treatment.
Officials were interviewing the refugees, and villagers had donated clothes and food, said Hidayatullah of local civic group Rapid Response Action.
Hidayatullah, who uses one name, said fisherman went to the aid of the Rohingya after seeing the boat at about 2pm.
Its sail was not working, he said.
Myanmar’s persecution of its Rohingya Muslim minority has sparked an exodus of about 700,000 refugees over land into neighboring Bangladesh since August last year. Some have also tried to flee by boat.
Myanmar’s military said it was carrying out counterinsurgency operations.
An Indonesian fishing boat rescued a group of five Rohingya in weak condition off westernmost Aceh on April 6, after a 20-day voyage in which five people died.
Just days before, Malaysian authorities intercepted a vessel carrying 56 people believed to be Rohingya refugees and took the vessel and its passengers to shore.
Rohingya, treated as undesirables in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar and denied citizenship, used to flee by sea by the thousands each year until security in Myanmar was tightened after a surge of refugees in 2015 caused regional concern.
The International Organization for Migration said the Indonesian government had asked it to send a team from its Medan office in Sumatra, including Rohingya interpreters, to help local officials with humanitarian assistance.
Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said. “Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic
‘NEO-NAZIS’: A minister described the rally as ‘spreading hate’ and ‘dividing our communities,’ adding that it had been organized and promoted by far-right groups Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country yesterday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis. “March for Australia” rallies against immigration were held in Sydney, and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s Web site. “Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the Web site said. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.” The group also said it was concerned about culture,
ANGER: Unrest worsened after a taxi driver was killed by a police vehicle on Thursday, as protesters set alight government buildings across the nation Protests worsened overnight across major cities of Indonesia, far beyond the capital, Jakarta, as demonstrators defied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call for calm. The most serious unrest was seen in the eastern city of Makassar, while protests also unfolded in Bandung, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta. By yesterday morning, crowds had dispersed in Jakarta. Troops patrolled the streets with tactical vehicles and helped civilians clear trash, although smoke was still rising in various protest sites. Three people died and five were injured in Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to
CRACKDOWN: The Indonesian president vowed to clamp down on ‘treason and terrorism,’ while acceding to some protest demands to revoke lawmaker benefits Protests in Indonesia over rising living costs and inequality intensified overnight, prompting Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to cancel a planned trip to China, while demonstrators reportedly targeted the homes of the finance minister and several lawmakers. Rioters entered Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s residence near Jakarta early yesterday, but were repelled by armed forces personnel, Kompas reported. Items were taken from the homes of lawmaker Ahmad Sahroni and two others, according to Detik.com. The reports of looting could not be independently verified, and the finance ministry has not responded to requests for comment. The protests were sparked by outrage over
RSS