Rohingya refugees reaching Indonesia by boat pushed back to international waters

livemint.com:

Aceh province. The Indonesian navy said a coast guard vessel detected a boat carrying Rohingya refugees entering Indonesia's waters on Wednesday. A helicopter from a navy ship subsequently spotted a wooden vessel nearing Weh island in north Aceh province.

The navy said its ship KRI Bontang-907 located the boat about 63 nautical miles (72 miles) off the Indonesian coast and drove it out, "ensuring that the boat did not return to Indonesian waters". The world's largest island country recently appealed to the international community for help and has intensified patrols of its waters due to a sharp rise in Rohingya refugees leaving overcrowded camps in Bangladesh since November. Over 1,500 Rohingya have arrived in Aceh and faced some hostility from fellow Muslims.

Earlier on Wednesday, a mob of students attacked the basement of a local community hall in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, where about 137 Rohingya were taking shelter. A large group of refugees, mostly women and children, were seen crying and screaming after a group wearing university green jackets broke through a police cordon and forcibly put the Rohingya on the back of two trucks, reported AP. Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the United Nations' 1951 Refugee Convention so is not obligated to accept the Rohingya coming from Bangladesh.

So far, refugees in distress have received at least temporary accommodations. Earlier, Indonesia tolerated such landings of Rohingya as 90% of the country population comprise Muslims, but there has been a surge of anti-Rohingya sentiment this year, especially in Aceh, where residents accuse the Rohingya of poor behaviour and creating a burden. The growing hostility of some Indonesians toward