Indonesian protesters storm refugee shelter, call for deportation of Rohingya
- Rohingya have experienced increasing hostility in Indonesia as locals grow frustrated at the number of boats arriving from Myanmar with the ethnic minority
- More than 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on the shores of Aceh province since mid-November, in what the UN says is the biggest influx in eight years
A large crowd of Indonesian students stormed a convention centre housing hundreds of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in the city of Banda Aceh on Wednesday, demanding they be deported, Reuters footage showed.
A city police spokesperson in Banda Aceh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Footage showed the students, many wearing green jackets, run into the building’s large basement space, where crowds of Rohingya men, women and children were seated on the floor and crying in fear.
The Rohingya were then led out by authorities, some carrying their belongings in plastic sacks, and taken to trucks to transport them to alternative shelter, as the protesters looked on.
Rohingya refugees have experienced increasing hostility and rejection in Indonesia as locals grow frustrated at the numbers of boats arriving with the ethnic minority, who face persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has blamed the recent surge in arrivals on human trafficking, and has promised to work with international organisations to offer temporary shelter.
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 in eight years. Some of their boats have faced rejection by locals and in some cases have been returned to sea.
