JAKARTA — Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (PMK) Muhadjir Effendy regrets that eight Rohingya refugees were found with Medan ID cards. He thinks it's the actual number could be higher and the case needs to be studied further.
“It means that our bureaucracy has helped with the case. And it should be looked at further, if not only a number of them are possible. Lest many of these refugees then naturalize secretly,” Muhadjir said in Jakarta on Monday (18/12/2023).
Muhadjir said that such a thing should not happen. Because, however, the arrival of Rohingya refugees is an arrival that the Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia do not want. In addition, the Indonesian government has no involvement with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to house them as refugees.
“The Indonesian government in this case must firmly hold the UNHCR accountable and must be urgently found a place that is the responsibility of UNHCR,” he said.
Earlier, there was information about the arrest of eight Rohingya refugees in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Such refugees are known to carry fake ID cards. The ID card was said to have been made in Medan, North Sumatra.
Vice President KH Ma'ruf Amin said the government is currently wary of the suspected crime of trafficking in persons (TPPO) behind the wave of Rohingya refugees entering Indonesia. This follows the continued arrival of this ethnic group of Myanmar origin to Indonesia.
“We're also starting to learn why they came here. Kan Indonesia is not a destination country I suppose it is, but a kind of transit country. But here according to the information there is also a TPPO,” the Wapres said in a press statement at Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, Monday (18/12/2023).
Therefore, the Government is working to prevent this alleged smuggling and human trafficking in the influx of Rohingya refugees into Indonesia. “Then it also prevents the possibility of any attempt to bring in by the TPPO syndicate that is suspected to be behind the arrival of the Rohingya. We will be wary of that,” Kiai Ma'ruf said.
The vice president said that the government allowed the Rohingya people to enter Indonesia for humanitarian reasons. Nevertheless, the government is aware that the influx of Rohingya people raises issues ranging from the need for major financing to house them to friction issues with surrounding communities near shelters.
“Of course, this also costs a lot, so we are coordinating with UNHCR, which has a responsibility, working with UNHCR in finding the right places (to) not disturb the surrounding communities,” the Prime Minister said.
The influx of Rohingya refugees continues to occur in Aceh. On Sunday (10/12/2023), about 315 Rohingya refugees returned to land in Aceh, namely in the coastal area of Blang Raya Pidie Regency, and Blang Ulam beach of Greater Aceh Regency.
The arrival of Rohingya refugees is the ninth wave to Aceh since November 2023. The point that the immigrants came to was in Pidie Regency four waves occurred, Bireuen and East Aceh one wave each, Sabang City two waves and last in Aceh Besar one wave
The influx of Rohingya refugees began to surge in Aceh since November 2022. At that time, at least 656 Rohingya refugees landed in Aceh. The number of landings during November 2022-January 2023 alone has exceeded the number of arrivals in 2020 (395 people), and 2021 (186 people). Later, the wave occurred again from November 2023. Currently, the number of Rohingya refugees in Indonesia is close to 2,000.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called the issue of Rohingya refugees one of the issues still relevant to be discussed at the ASEAN-Japan summit. This issue, he said, is not only a matter for ASEAN, but also for the countries to come.
“I think it is very relevant to talk about because this is also not only a world problem, not just an ASEAN problem, but also a problem of the countries that come,” Jokowi said before taking off from the Halim Perdanakusuma AU military base on Saturday (16/12/2023).
Jokowi said Malaysia has the same problem as Indonesia. In fact, there are more Rohingya refugees in Malaysia than in Indonesia. “Malaysia has the same problem with more numbers, we also have the same problem with numbers that are now quite a lot,” he said.
Although it is not obliged to accept Rohingya refugees because it is not a country that ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention, Indonesia decided to accommodate the refugees from Myanmar on the basis of humanitarian diplomacy.
Therefore, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi continued to call for the root of the Rohingya refugee problem to be resolved soon, so as not to cause further repercussions for fellow ASEAN countries.
Not all refugees
Meanwhile, the Banda Aceh City Resort Police said that not all ethnic Rohingya who landed in Aceh province were refugees, but that there was an alleged crime of people smuggling in the landings.
Banda Aceh Commissioner Kombes Pol Fahmi Irwan Ramli said on Monday that one of them was the landing of 137 ethnic Rohingya in Blang Ulam Beach, Lamreh Village, Masjid Raya Subdistrict, Aceh Besar on Sunday (10/12/2023). Police found that not all of them had refugee cards from the UNHCR.
“Of the 137 Rohingya who were stranded some time ago, not all of them are Cox's Bazar refugees,” Kombes Pol Fahmi said at a press briefing on human smuggling cases in Banda Aceh, quoted by Antara.
He explained that police searched the group of 137 Rohingya, two of whom were known to be Bangladeshi and the rest were Myanmar nationals.
They set out from Cox's Bazar Bangladesh not to evacuate or save themselves, but to find decent work as an effort to improve lives. “From the examination of the witnesses (Rohingya) we ask, that they came to the destination country in order to improve their lives, to find work,” he said.
In addition, he added, of the 137 Rohingya who landed, there were some who were also financed by their parents or families. However, his parents and family are still in the Cox's Bazar refugee camp.
“So it means that we can conclude for the time being, that they are not in an emergency, from their home country towards Indonesia. They have a goal which is to get a better life by finding a job in the destination country,” he said.
In addition, according to the police, as a result of the deepening carried out by the Banda Aceh Police at the time when the Rohingya landed in Aceh, the police found that Aceh or Indonesia was a stopover or transit area for them, whose final destination was Malaysia.
“But lately from the interviews that we did, the eliciting that we did, now that Indonesia is becoming a destination country to get better livelihood jobs,” he said.
On the other hand, the Banda Aceh Police Department has also designated an ethnic Rohingya citizen named Muhammed Amin (MA) as a suspect in a case of alleged human smuggling to Indonesia.
MA is suspected of being involved in the smuggling of 137 Rohingya people including himself, who landed at Blang Ulam Village Beach, Lamreh Village, Mesjid Raya District, Aceh Besar, on Sunday (10/12). Now, the Rohingya are still in the underground parking lot of Balai Meuseuraya Aceh (BMA) in Banda Aceh.
“The suspect, with the initials MA, is 35 years old from Myanmar. Concerned are the refugees of Camp 1 Block H-88 Kutupalum, the site of the Rohingya Ethnic Shelter in Cox's Bazar Bangladesh,” Fahmi said. He said that the investigation and investigation were carried out jointly by Sat Resrim Polresta Banda Aceh, Sat Intelkam Polresta Banda Aceh and Dit Reskrimum Polda Aceh. The suspect is ensnared under Article 120 paragraph (1) of Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration.
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