More deaths at sea, another capsized boat and more tragedy. This time it is Rohingya fleeing either persecution in Myanmar or unlivable conditions in makeshift camps outside the country. Seventy deaths and counting from the latest incident alone. The trendline for Rohingya escaping on boats to head for places like Indonesia or Australia is showing … Read more
In recent years Australia has started to shift its focus westward. While the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia have been deemed primary areas of interest for the country, the Indo-Pacific construct has led Australia to take its Indian Ocean opportunities more seriously. Mostly this has led to greater cooperation with India as the region’s primary … Read more
More Rohingya asylum seekers were reported killed or missing while attempting to flee Myanmar and Bangladesh last year than in nearly a decade, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which called for coordinated action to protect the ethnic minority group. In a statement yesterday, UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said that the agency was alarmed … Read more
In the span of a month between mid-November and mid-December of 2023, nine boats carrying 1,543 Rohingya disembarked in Aceh, Indonesia. It was the largest number of arrivals since the so-called 2015 Andaman Sea Crisis. Indonesia, and particularly local communities in the province of Aceh, was once heralded for its open and welcoming approach to … Read more
A harrowing scenario is currently playing itself out in Aceh, Indonesia, marked by political manipulation and a burgeoning humanitarian crisis. Recently arrived Rohingya refugees, a group plagued by relentless persecution and statelessness, have found themselves at the epicenter of a socio-political storm that transcends borders. The tensions reached a peak on December 27, when hundreds … Read more
Another 140 Rohingya refugees arrived in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province over the weekend, adding to a surge of arrivals that has created tensions with local communities. According to Reuters, which cited a report from the state news agency Antara, the group, consisting mostly of women and children, arrived by boat in North Sumatra’s Deli Serdang … Read more
More than 200 people protested yesterday in western Indonesia against the continued arrival of Rohingya refugees by boat, claiming that the sudden influx of people threatens to overwhelm local communities. More than 1,500 Rohingya civilians, seeking to escape the heaving, unsanitary, and crime-ridden refugee camps of southern Bangladesh, have washed up on Indonesia’s shores since … Read more
Yesterday, BenarNews published a report detailing Indonesia’s difficulty in handling the sudden influx of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh – and of the fears that the government may choose to deport them back to Myanmar. An estimated 1,487 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Indonesia in recent weeks, according to the country’s Ministry of Political, Legal, and … Read more
A United Nations expert has called for Southeast Asian governments to launch a regional emergency response to address a surge of Rohingya refugees arriving in Indonesia by sea. More than 1,000 Rohingya civilians have landed in Aceh in western Indonesia over the past 10 days, after perilous ocean journeys from the coast of southeastern Bangladesh. … Read more
While the world has its eyes on the ongoing war in Palestine, Indonesia has been facing a small crisis of its own with the arrival of nearly 900 Rohingya refugees to the country’s Aceh Province over the past week. The conservative province, which is a special autonomous region and the only part of Indonesia to … Read more