By Reuters
Staff
JAKARTA, Nov 15
(Reuters) - A boat carrying 111 Rohingya refugees, including women and
children, landed on the shores of Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh on
Tuesday, authorities said, the latest among an annual exodus from northwest
Myanmar.
The Rohingya, a
persecuted Muslim minority, have for years sailed to countries such as
Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia between November and April when the seas are
calmer. Hundreds have reached Aceh in recent years, many having been at sea for
months.
In Myanmar, the
Rohingya are widely considered to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh,
despite being born in Myanmar.
Hamdani, a
spokesperson for the North Aceh government, who like many Indonesians uses one
name only, said all 111 aboard the boat, which include 27 women and 18
children, were in good health.
“They are on land
already. They have been treated well,” he said, adding they were staying in a
nearby village.
Authorities will meet
later on Tuesday to decide what to do with the group, he said.
More than 730,000
Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar in 2017 after a military crackdown that witnesses
said included mass killings and rape. Rights groups have documented killings of
civilians and burning of villages.
Myanmar authorities
have said they were battling an insurgency and deny carrying out systematic
atrocities. (Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by
Martin Petty)
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