Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Government has decided to take in Rohingya refugees who have been reported adrift on a boat in the waters near Bireuen District, Aceh, citing humanitarian reasons.
"This decision was made after considering the urgent condition experienced by those refugees on the boat," deputy for coordination of security and public order at the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Inspector General Armed Wijaya, said here on Wednesday.
Based on observations, he said, the boat's passengers are mostly women and children.
"The exact number of the refugees will be known after further data is recorded. Right now, the refugees' boat is located 50 nautical miles off the coast of Bireuen and will be towed inland," Wijaya explained.
Wijaya, who is also the head of the Foreign Refugees Task Force, explained that the government will soon coordinate and handle the refugees based on Presidential Regulation No. 125 of 2016.
Related news: UNHCR calls for urgent disembarkation of Rohingya refugees in Aceh
Given the pandemic situation, all refugees will undergo health screening for the next data collection phase as well as health protocols, he added.
According to Wijaya, the Foreign Refugees Task Force of the ministry will coordinate with the local government, the Indonesian Military, the National Police, and related stakeholders to provide the refugees shelter, logistics, and health access.
The International Concern Group for Rohingyas (ICGR) has also appealed to the Indonesian government to save the Rohingya refugees, saying many of them are children.
"We urge the Indonesian government to rescue these Rohingya refugees, who have been floating in the Aceh sea since Sunday (December 26, 2021)," ICGR's secretary general M Adli Abdullah said in Banda Aceh on Wednesday.
For humanitarian reasons, the 120 Rohingya refugees should be rescued and brought to land and not sent back to sea, as there are 60 women and 51 children in the group, he said.
"This is a matter of life and death for them," he stressed.
Related news: IOM asked to shift 54 Rohingya refugees to Medan
