Arakan News Agency
More than 400 Rohingya migrants who were pushed back to sea in southern Thailand last week have ended up in Indonesia.
Local fishermen rescued the migrants, many of whom were weak and starving, Wednesday and took them to the eastern province of Aceh.
Most of those rescued are Rohingya, an impoverished mainly Muslim ethnic community from Myanmar, which the government considers stateless, or are Bangladeshis fleeing poverty at home.
Thousands more may be stranded at sea, at risk of death.
The boat’s rescue came as Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to provide temporary shelter to thousands drifting at sea.
Last week, Thai officials pushed them back into international waters after fixing the motor and supplying three days’ worth of food and gas.
Thai Navy Commander Weerapong Nakprasit, in explaining the policy, said, “First of all, we look at the humanitarian need. That’s what we’re doing now, that’s what we always do. But the most important thing is the internal security of our country. If they come across into our waters, they are breaking the law as illegal migrants.”
Source : VOA
