Indonesian Government to Resettle Rohingya Refugees to Two Safe Places

Jakarta, MINA – The Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD stated that the Rohingya refugees who were expelled by college student groups in Aceh would be placed in two safe locations, namely in the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) building and the Aceh Foundation building, acoording to Republika online.

Mahfud said Rohingya Refugees would be guarded by security forces.

“I have taken decisions and actions so that the Rohingya refugees are placed in a safe place. One, placed in the PMI building. Others are placed in the Aceh Foundation building. And I have ordered the security forces to take care because this is a matter of humanity. “It’s a matter of humanity,” said Mahfud via video recording, quoted Friday.

Mahfud said that the action he took was based on humanitarian reasons. Because, according to him, Indonesia has no other ties apart from humanitarian ties to the Rohingya refugees. Indonesia, he said, is not bound by the United Nations (UN) convention on refugees which is the origin of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or UNHCR.

“If people are expelled, they cannot return to their country, instead of being left adrift at sea, we will accommodate them first and then return them through the UN. Because the one who has the rules is the UN. If we want to evict ourselves, we can do it now. Because we have nothing to do. “But this is a humanitarian matter,” he explained.

The expulsion of Rohingya refugees by student groups in Aceh has become an international spotlight. Qatari media, Al Jazeera, reported this incident by highlighting the attack by hundreds of students on 137 Rohingya refugees who were in the Balee Meuseuraya Aceh (BMA) Building.

“Hundreds of students in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh have stormed a temporary shelter for Rohingya refugees, demanding they be deported,” read the news as reported by Republika on Friday.

In the news, the actions of this student group were described as a new episode of discrimination against persecuted minority groups in Myanmar. Previously there had been rejection of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees when they arrived on the coast of Aceh since mid-November.

Video circulating shows students, wearing jackets and various university badges, running towards where the Rohingya are. They ran away while shouting “reject Rohingya in Aceh” and “kick them out”.

The students were also seen kicking the belongings of the refugees there. The refugees consisting of women, men and children were seen sitting and some of them were crying in fear. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)