At least one dead as boat carrying 100 Rohingya refugees stranded off Indonesian coast

Authorities have not given the vessel permission to come ashore

Rohingya refugees on the boat anchored off the coast of South Aceh on Monday. Photo: AFP

A boat carrying about 100 Rohingya refugees has been left stranded off the coast of north-western Indonesia, with at least one person dead as immigration authorities in Aceh province decide whether to allow the group to come ashore.

Volunteers and activists monitoring the boat said passengers received assistance from authorities and four were taken to hospital, but the refugees had not been given clearance to dock. The vessel was first spotted on Friday about 6km from the coast of Aceh. Volunteers set off to deliver food and water to the stranded refugees.

Yuhelmi, a spokesman for the South Aceh district, told AFP that locals were waiting for an immigration team from the provincial capital Banda Aceh. “Whether they will be brought on land, that’s within the authority of the immigration. For now, there has been no decision,” he said.

A video on social media showed an overcrowded boat adrift in the ocean with a woman’s body on board. The body was wrapped in cloth and surrounded by other passengers, including children. “I saw with my own eyes there was a body. There were many children aboard,” local community leader Muhammad Jabal told AFP.

The day before the boat was sighted, the body of a Rohingya woman was found at sea.

The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority who have been heavily persecuted in Myanmar, often make perilous boat journeys seeking refuge in neighbouring countries including Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. More than a million live in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh after fleeing Myanmar's military, which has been accused by the US of “genocide” against the Rohingya.

Last year, more than 4,500 Rohingya, the majority women and children, fled Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat, according to the UN's refugee agency. Of those, 569 died or went missing, the highest number since 2014. Between November 2023 and last month, 15 boats carrying 2,000 Rohingya refugees landed in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said.

Rohingya refugees on the boat anchored off the coast of South Aceh on Monday. Photo: AFP

On Thursday, a group of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were found dead in a remote area of southern Thailand after they were loaded on to refrigerated cargo lorries by human traffickers, a report by Human Rights Watch said. In March, a boat carrying 142 Rohingya capsized off the coast of West Aceh in Indonesia, killing 67 passengers including 27 children.

Rights groups are calling on the Indonesian government and other Asian countries to offer greater protection and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya.

“Indonesia has displayed strong solidarity and humanity in the past by allowing Rohingya refugees to disembark and should continue to do so,” said Fadil Usman, humanitarian director at Save the Children. “Nobody should have to put their life at risk to make perilous journeys by sea in search of a better life, but this is sadly the reality for Rohingya refugees who have undertaken dangerous sea journeys, often in boats that are not seaworthy, to seek protection, to access livelihoods and education, and to reunite with families.”

There has been a rise in the number of Rohingya boats landing in Indonesia over the last two years amid fighting in Myanmar between the military and rebel groups and declining humanitarian support in Bangladesh.

Last month, the UN refugee agency said more funding was needed to help those displaced. “The UNHCR estimates that $2.2 million will be required to respond to the needs of the current population and anticipated new arrivals in 2024. Only a fraction of needed funding has been received by UNHCR to date.”