By Ainur Romah
JAKARTA
Indonesia has claimed that it did not tow a boat carrying Bangladeshi and Myanmar migrants from its waters at the weekend, saying that some of the passengers asked not to be taken ashore as they only wanted to go to Malaysia.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters Thursday that one boat had headed for land after it was approached by a navy warship, while another asked to be left to continue on its way.
"The refugees were asking for food assistance, clean water, and fuel. Once everything was given, they [the boats] split up because they said they were not going to Indonesia."
Army spokesman Major General Fuad Basya had earlier said that the boat had been asked to turn around and not stay stranded in Indonesia territory.
Amnesty International said in statement Thursday that hundreds of Rohingya -- and increasingly Bangladeshi – have been at sea on such boats for possibly more than two months.
Many such migrants have been smuggled for years through Thailand in hopes of finding work in Malaysia, but the current crisis comes in the wake of a crackdown. At least five large trafficking camps have been found in Songkhla province, while more than 250 Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi -- abandoned by smugglers -- have been arrested.
Under pressure, the smugglers have been ditching boat fulls of emaciated Bangladeshi and Rohingya in Malaysia and in Indonesia or abandoning their vessels, leaving the migrants onboard adrift at sea.
North Aceh Regency Spokesman Amir Hamzah told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that those who have made it to land in the country's northwest in the last week had since been moved from a sports center to a larger complex at Kuala Cangkoi, a fishing town on the north coast.
He said that the complex is bigger than the centre, with better sanitation facilities.
"It is the most appropriate location we can find to accommodate them," he said, adding that they likely will stay there for a few months before being moved by the country's immigration agency.
UNHCR information officer Mitra Salima Suryono told Anadolu Agency that the 583 migrants staying at the complex - two of whom were found floating adrift in the sea - would receive international protection until their asylum status is clear.
"In order to meet basic needs for food, clothing and health, we are already coordinating with the International Organization for Migration," she said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha has underlined that the country has a responsibility to continue to help the hundreds of migrants who are stranded in its northwest out of respect for their human rights.
"What we will do is give them shelter and food. What we will not do is put them back on a boat and push them into the sea," he added.
