Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July 28, 2013

Aceh Fishermen Rescue 68 Rohingya Asylum Seekers From Indian Ocean

Ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar wave as they are transported by a wooden boat to a temporary shelter in Krueng Raya in Aceh Besar in this April 8, 2013 file photo. (Reuters Photo/Junaidi Hanafiah) By Nurdin Hasan  JakartaGlobe July 28, 2013 Banda Aceh. Fishermen rescued a more than 60 Rohingya asylum seekers stranded in a boat off the coast of Aceh Jaya on Sunday — the third disabled Rohingya boat found floating in the Indian Ocean this year. The 68 Rohingya — including a pregnant woman and two babies — told Aceh officials they boarded the boat after being threatened with deportation in Malaysia. “The asylum seekers who could speak Malay said they departed from Malaysia four days ago and were heading to Australia to apply for asylum,” Rizal Dinata, the head of Aceh Jaya branch Indonesian Inter-Citizen Radio (RAPI), said. Shortly after leaving Malaysia, the asylum seekers’ compass and global positioning system (GPS) were damaged, Rizal reported. The wind