Fishermen and Indonesian police begin patrols to intercept Rohingya boats.

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 Fishermen and Indonesian police begin patrols to intercept Rohingya boats.

In response to the almost 1,100 arrival of Rohingya refugees this month—a minority group from Myanmar that faces persecution—Indonesian police and fishermen announced on Saturday that they have started patrolling sections of the westernmost province of the nation to stop them from reaching its shores. Every year, thousands of people from the predominantly Muslim minority risk their lives by attempting to enter Malaysia or Indonesia by sea, frequently in rickety boats, from refugee camps in Bangladesh. More than six boats, some of which locals attempted to turn back to sea, brought hundreds of Rohingya people from Bangladesh to Aceh province this month as sailing conditions improved.

36 Rohingya arrived in East Aceh, a regency of over 350,000 people, on Sunday, according to police, who now enforce round-the-clock patrols.

The department "has instructed its subordinate police precincts with coastal areas to intensify surveillance, both along the coastline and in the waters of the Malacca Strait, to prevent the entry of Rohingya immigrants" , according to a statement. According to police commander Andy Rahmansyah, "the police are patrolling 24/7 to prevent Rohingya immigrants from landing in East Aceh." Patrols were stepped up on Friday night in North Aceh, according to Amiruddin Ismail, the head of Tanoh Anoe village, after fishermen reported seeing a Rohingya boat three kilometres off the shore of Muara Batu town. According to him, military personnel, local law enforcement, and fishermen all patrolled the coast until the supposed boat vanished from sight. Naharuddin, a fisherman and the chairman of the Dewantara district in North Aceh, who goes by Naharuddin like many Indonesians, confirmed the patrols to AFP. "We started monitoring the shoreline right away. "We asked fishermen to keep a watch while they were at sea," he said. Experts worry that after Malaysia, Thailand, and India discouraged the entrance of Rohingya, Indonesia may be the next nation to impose border controls. For a long time, many Acehnese have felt compassion for the suffering of other Muslims. However, some argue their patience has run out since the Rohingya sometimes clash with locals and use up precious resources. Since the 1990s, more than a million Rohingya have left Myanmar, the majority of them after a military campaign in 2017 that drove many of them to take refuge in camps in Bangladesh. As it is not a signatory to the UN convention on refugees, Indonesia claims it is not required to accept refugees from Myanmar.

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