The Rohingya boat which was stranded near Aceh shore since Sunday was being sent into Malaysian waters by Indonesian authorities.
More than 100 people, mostly women and children, who set sail on a wooden boat were denied to take refuge in Indonesia and instead pushed into the neighbouring Southeast Asian country.
Yesterday, Navy official Dian Suryansyah said while speaking with reporters that, Rohingya were not Indonesian citizens and the army could not “simply bring them in as refugees”. “This is in line with government policy,” he added.
Despite calls from Amnesty and the United Nations agency for the refugees to be accepted, Indonesian authorities send the group back after providing supplies, clothes and fuel as well as a technician to fix their damaged boat.
