REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chairman of the Great Administrator of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Ahmad Fahrur Rozi (Gus Fahrur) expressed his response to Rohingya refugees in Aceh. According to him, coordination with the UN agency on Rohingya refugees is needed.

“It's best to coordinate with the United Nations on [Rohingya] refugees. Which is more possible for their handling,” he told Republika.co.id on Friday (8/12/2023).

Gus Fahrur also understands that this situation is indeed difficult for the Indonesian government. Therefore, in his opinion, the guard at sea should be tightened. He also said there were options that could be considered.

The option in question is to help Rohingya refugees to return to their country, Myanmar, but remain adequately provided while there. The source of the funds, he said, could be from the zakat fund.

“Assisted people were returned to Myanmar and given sufficiency there from zakat funds by a wealthy Muslim country,” he said.

A total of 16 Rohingya were reported to have escaped from a temporary shelter, a former immigration office building in Ulee Blang Mane Village, Blang Mangat District, Lhokseumawe City, Aceh Province.

“From the information we have obtained, the Rohingya refugees escaped by damaging the walls of their rooms and escaping through the fence in the direction of the women's toilet,” said Darius Darius, Head of the Protocol and Communications Department of Lhokseumawe Municipality in Lhokseumawe, Wednesday, December 6, 2023.

He explained that while monitoring the site, it found the number of Rohingya refugees remaining in shelters was 498, down from a previous total of 514. According to Darius, it did not know the reason the Rohingya refugees fled the shelter site.

He also questioned the issue to relevant agencies dealing with international refugees. During this time, the guards on standby at the refugee site include police, security guards, UNHCR, IOM and members of refugee-related foundations.

“Officers have been stationed at the front, but Rohingya immigrants are escaping through the back direction,” he said.

According to him, the case of ethnic Rohingya fleeing temporary shelters in Lhokseumawe is not the first time it has happened. Earlier, on Monday (November 27, 2023), seven Rohingya refugees escaped from a shelter in the building of the former Lhokseumawe Immigration Office.

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