JAKARTA: Hundreds of university students in Indonesia’s westernmost province stormed a temporary shelter for more than a hundred Rohingya refugees today, forcing them to leave in the latest rejection of the persecuted Myanmar minority.
More than 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on the shores of Aceh province since mid-November in what the United Nations says is the biggest influx for eight years.
Some of their boats have faced rejection by locals and in some cases have been returned to sea.
The students, many wearing jackets with different universities’ insignias, entered a government function hall in the capital Banda Aceh where 137 Rohingya refugees were staying.
The students demanded they be moved to a local immigration office so they could be deported, according to footage seen by AFP.
It showed students chanting “kick them out” and “reject Rohingya in Aceh”.
The students were also seen kicking the refugees’ belongings.
Some women and children were in tears while men who had been praying looked to the ground.
The protesters were also involved in a scuffle with police who were guarding the frightened refugees but officers ultimately permitted their removal by the students, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
The students burned tyres and prepared trucks for the Rohingya to be moved.
Police helped them board before they were taken to another government office nearby, the AFP journalist observed.
Banda Aceh police did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
“We protested because we don’t agree with the Rohingya who keep coming here,” Kholilullah, a 23-year-old university student who goes by one name, told AFP.
Many Acehnese, who themselves have memories of decades of bloody conflict, are sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims.
But others say their patience has been tested, claiming the Rohingya consume scarce resources and occasionally come into conflict with locals.
“Acehnese used to welcome them but as we know, there are traffickers who smuggled Rohingya into Aceh … So, we as the students support the Acehnese’s decision,” said university student Muhammad Khalis.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the United Nations refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in refugees from Myanmar, calling instead on neighbouring countries to share the burden and resettle Rohingya who arrive on its shores.
