US Readies Air Patrols in Search for Rohingya Boat People
19 October 2018 14:57 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Attention turned Friday to the seas off Southeast Asia's west coast as naval vessels from Myanmar and Malaysia searched for stranded boat people and the US military prepared air patrols to step up its involvement.
Thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar and economic migrants from Bangladesh are believed to be trapped on crowded boats with little food or water — some after being pushed back by the navies of at least three countries — and the international community has warned that time to save them is running out.
In the first official rescue operation since migrants started washing onto Southeast Asian shores earlier this month, four Malaysian navy ships searched the country's territorial waters for the boats. Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said three helicopters and three other ships were on standby.
Myanmar's navy found two fishing trawlers filled with 208 men during a patrol Thursday night off the coast of Myanmar's Rakhine state, the main point of departure for Rohingya minority Muslims fleeing the Buddhist country.
Zaw Htay, director of Myanmar's presidential office, said on Friday, May 22, 2015, that the men were identified as Bangladeshi and would be sent back to the neighboring country.
"The Myanmar navy continues with search and rescue activities in Myanmar waters," he said. "If they find any boat with migrants, they will provide humanitarian assistance, conduct verification and return them to where they came from."
The Rohingya are fleeing hatred and religious violence in Myanmar, where the government regards them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh — and refers to them as "Bengalis," not "Rohingya" — even though many have lived in the country for generations. Neither Myanmar nor Bangladesh recognizes them as citizens.
About 3,600 refugees and migrants have washed ashore in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, according to the International Organization for Migration. Half are Rohingya and the rest are from Bangladesh, the IOM said. Many endured voyages of more than 1,700 kilometers (1,000 miles) on overcrowded boats that last lasted weeks or months.
Southeast Asian countries initially responded to the crisis by refusing to take in the migrants. But after pushing back several vessels earlier in the month, Malaysia and Indonesia said Thursday they will provide temporary shelter to the desperate men, women and children if the international community helps resettle them within a year.
AP