Dilapidated boats carrying an estimated 440 Rohingyas arrived in Indonesia's Aceh province yesterday, the chief of a provincial fishing community has confirmed, contributing to a recent surge of Myanmar's Muslim minority seeking refuge in the country. Before yesterday's arrivals, the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) reported that 1,320 Rohingya individuals, a persecuted minority from Myanmar, had landed ashore in Indonesia since November.

Miftah Cut Ade, chief of the fishing community in Aceh, stated that two boats landed in the province early yesterday morning, one in each of the districts of Pidie and Aceh Besar. Each boat was estimated to be carrying around 220 Rohingyas, he said.

Andi Susanto, a local military official, reported that approximately 198 Rohingyas had landed in Pidie at 4:00 am, and officers were coordinating in the field to collect data. Susanto confirmed that the military was aware of a second boat but did not have information on its landing location or the number of people on board.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed in a statement on Friday that he suspects human trafficking is behind the recent increase in boat arrivals and has pledged to collaborate with international organizations to address the issue.

While Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees, it has a history of accepting refugees when they arrive on the country's shores. However, the significant influx of recent arrivals has sparked a backlash on social media and faced resistance from some individuals in Aceh, the westernmost region where most boats land.

For years, Rohingyas have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they are generally regarded as foreign interlopers from South Asia, denied citizenship, and subjected to abuse. During the calmer seas between November and April each year, members of the persecuted minority embark on wooden boats for neighboring Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
 

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