Indonesia on Wednesday said it would release dozens of Rohingya refugees to the coast following protests by local residents and the international community over its plan to plunge them into Malaysian waters.
At least 100 people, mostly women and children, aboard a battered wooden canoe in Aceh province have been banned from fleeing Indonesia, where authorities said on Tuesday they planned to push them into Malaysian waters after repairing their boat.
After Wednesday’s meeting between officials in the coastal city of Bireuen, Jakarta backed off and said a refugee boat would be towed to shore for humanitarian reasons.
“The decision was made after considering the refugee emergency on the boat,” said Armed Wijaya, head of the national refugee team.
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The Rohingya boat was about 50 miles [80 km] from Bireuen and would be towed ashore, he said without elaborating on time.
“In the midst of this epidemic, all refugees will undergo a medical examination,” he said, adding that the working group would work with related stakeholders to provide shelter and refugee property.
Indonesian authorities began seeing a wooden boat two days ago, trapped about 50 miles [80 km] off the coast of Indonesia, according to a local naval commander. Local fishermen were notified on December 25, said one of them.
On Tuesday, Amnesty International and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees called on the government to release a vulnerable group of Rohingya refugees.
Aceh’s previous plan to send refugees to Malaysia also angered locals in Bireuen, where a group of fishermen on Wednesday staged a protest demanding that the authorities allow the Rohingya to step down.
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“We saw videos of their status on social media. They need water and food. They should be treated as human beings, “Bireuen resident Wahyudi told AFP.
“The Acehnese too had a similar experience with the Rohingya. We had been in contention for a long time. We escaped across the sea with the help of people from various countries, such as Malaysia, Australia. ”