Jakarta (ANTARA) - UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has pressed for the immediate, life-saving disembarkation of a group of Rohingya refugees in distress at sea off the coast of Bireuen, Aceh, Indonesia. The boat was first sighted in waters off Bireuen on December 26.
Based on photographs and reports from local fishermen, the passengers on the packed, unseaworthy boat are overwhelmingly women and children, UNHCR Indonesia noted in its press release here on Tuesday .
The boat, which reportedly is leaking and has a damaged engine, is floating in the open seas amid harsh weather and may be at risk of capsizing.
"The UNHCR is deeply concerned about the safety and lives of those onboard. To prevent needless loss of lives, we strongly urge the Indonesian Government to allow safe disembarkation immediately," the UNHCR emphasized.
The 2016 Presidential Regulation No. 125 on refugee protection includes provisions for the Government of Indonesia to rescue refugees on boats in distress near Indonesia and to help them disembark. These provisions were implemented earlier in 2018, 2020, and most recently, in June 2021, when 81 Rohingya refugees were rescued off the coast of East Aceh.
For several years, Indonesia has set an example for other countries in the region in providing refugee protection.
Related news: 25 Rohingya children arrived in Aceh without parents: Retno Marsudi
"The UNHCR hopes to see the same humanitarian spirit again today in Aceh. Rohingya have faced violence, persecution, and forced displacement for decades. All those seeking international protection must be allowed safe harbor and granted access to asylum procedures and humanitarian aid," the UN agency affirmed.
The UNHCR staff are currently on the ground, working closely in coordination with the local authorities, as they stand ready to assist the government and the local community to provide immediate, life-saving assistance for the group.
"We are also coordinating with humanitarian partners in preparation for a comprehensive response, which includes a quarantine process that is in line with international standards and public health protocols," it added.
Meanwhile, the International Concern Group for Rohingyas (ICGR) also urged the government to immediately rescue the Rohingya refugees, who are mostly children.
"We urge the Indonesian government to save these Rohingya refugees, who have been floating in the Aceh sea since Sunday (12/26/2021)," ICGR Secretary General Dr M. Adli Abdullah stated in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, on Wednesday.
Adli noted that the 120 Rohingya refugees should be rescued by bringing them to the mainland and not sending them back to the high seas.
"Moreover, most of them are children and women, comprising 60 women and 51 children. This is a matter of life and death," he affirmed.
Regardless of the reason, Adli believes they must be saved on humanitarian grounds. In fact, he received information that the local fishermen's association Panglima Laot Bireuen was being questioned by the police.
"Please do not criminalize fishermen and Panglima Laot. They are helping this for humanitarian reasons only. In accordance with their traditional customs, they practice providing humanitarian assistance to those in need at sea," Abdullah, a lecturer at the Banda Aceh-based University of Syiah Kuala (USK), stated.
He also called on the ASEAN to participate in addressing the Rohingya issue to prevent any disturbance to regional stability.
"Others ASEAN member countries must also be proactive in solving this crisis, so that Rohingya refugees do not continue to be a problem every year," according to Adli Abdullah.
Panglima Laot Aceh had earlier reported that a boat carrying Rohingya refugees was monitored by Acehnese fishermen, who had just returned to sea in the waters of Bireuen Regency, Aceh, some 67 nautical miles.
The refugees are still adrift in the Bireuen sea, as the authorities do not allow local fishermen to tow the Rohingya boat to the Aceh shore.
Related news: 25 Rohingya children arrived in Aceh without parents: Retno Marsudi
