Again, Rohingya Refugees Rejected by Villagers in Aceh Besar

TheIndonesia.co - Residents of Ladong village in Aceh Besar, Aceh, on Monday rejected the presence of 137 Rohingya refugees at a social shelter in the village.

Armansyah, a villager, said that he and other villagers staged a protest against the accommodation of refugees at the shelter due to past negative experiences with refugees.

"We welcomed the first wave of Rohingya refugees here with open arms. But many behaved poorly so that it disturbed local residents," he stated, as quoted by Antara, adding that many of the refugees who stayed at the shelter fled.

Many of them were also involved in conflicts with locals, Armansyah said.

During the protest, the villagers set up a human barricade in front of the gate of Rumoh Seujahtera Beujroh Meukarya Ladong Tuna Sosial to prevent the refugees from entering the facility.

As a result, the refugees failed to enter the Aceh Social Affairs Office's shelter.

This was the fifth such rejection from locals since the refugees' vessel arrived on Blang Raya Beach on Sunday (December 10, 2023).

ANTARA earlier reported that the Rohingya refugees that the Ladong villagers rejected were transported from Sri Ratu Safiatuddin Park located near the Aceh governor's office.

The authorities' previous efforts to place the refugees at temporary shelters in Lamreh, Aceh Besar, and Pidie's Scout Camp also failed due to rejection from locals.

Azmanto, an Aceh Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officer, said that his office was ordered to transport the refugees to Ladong village to stay at the social shelter.

The refugees were supposed to stay at the social shelter for one week, he said.

Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also arrived at the social shelter, he added.

"We represent the Satpol PP and the Aceh administration in carrying the refugees to Ladong (social shelter)," Azmanto said.

He said that before sending the refugees to the shelter, he had coordinated with the shelter officials to avoid any potential rejection from the community as the facility is owned by the Aceh administration.

Regarding the current arrivals of Rohingya refugees, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) earlier said that the government is temporarily accommodating those who have entered Indonesian territory.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi recently called for a political solution to the Rohingya issue, which is considered an inseparable part of resolving the crisis in Myanmar.

During a meeting on the Rohingya issue on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the United States, Marsudi underlined that the future of Rohingya refugees remains uncertain.

At the same time, the global situation and the conditions in Myanmar have further complicated efforts to resolve the issue.

"Resolving the Rohingya issue should be part of resolving the political crisis in Myanmar," she said.