Indonesia Ready to Take Point in Refugee Crisis

As Southeast Asia faces a ‘massive humanitarian crisis,’ Indonesia says it is willing to lead relief efforts — with the help of the international community

Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia, Novianti Setuningsih & Ezra Sihite, May 26, 2015

An Indonesian protester displays a placard as he takes part in a rally with dozens of
 Muslim and labor groups in front of the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday, in
reaction to the religious persecution of ethnic Rohingyas. (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)

Jakarta. The government revealed it has disbursed a total of Rp 2.3 billion ($174,000) for Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees stranded in Aceh, but is asking the international community to help with funding if they want Indonesia to do more.

“We’ve funneled Rp 2.3 billion for blankets, children’s clothing, mattresses and tents for four refugee camps in North Aceh, East Aceh and Langsa,” Social Services Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa told reporters in Jakarta on Monday, after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to report on the issue.

Several Islamic boarding schools in West and East Java have expressed interest in taking in orphans, she said, adding that as many as 230 Rohingya children have lost their parents.

“These schools have spoken to me directly. They say they are willing to shelter the orphaned children as students, as they are all Muslims ,” she said.

Meanwhile, trauma centers operated by the Ministry of Social Services have signaled they are also ready to accommodate these children.

Authorities have discussed the possibility of repatriating the orphans, but the process would be long and require the collective efforts of multiple organizations, Khofifa explained.

Kalla last week met with Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to discuss the building refugee crisis.

Kalla has ordered the Aceh government to provide assistance to the asylum seekers and said Indonesia was willing to shelter them for up to a year,  but asked the UNHCR to help address funding issues.

Indonesia is not a party to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and is, therefore, not obligated to offer boat people aid in any shape or form.

Nearly 2,000 refugees from Bangladesh and Myanmar were stranded on the archipelago’s westernmost province after the Thai government’s recent crackdown on human trafficking and Malaysia’s and Indonesia’s initial refusal to offer help, lead to them drifting onboard rickety boats.

The human traffickers that took them on the perilous journey had reportedly abandoned ship.

Aceh’s fishermen were the first to take action, bringing them to shore and providing temporary shelters.

Aceh’s Zaini said in Jakarta on Tuesday that his province was willing to help the boat people while the UNHCR was in the process of screening those worthy of refugee status and those who are not, but asked the central government to stay true to its promise to assist with funding.

“The funds must be disbursed soon, otherwise [Aceh] will not be able to handle this situation alone,” Zaini said.

It was not immediately clear whether the financial assistance he meant included the money distributed by the Ministry of Social Services.

‘Massive humanitarian crisis’

Local lawmakers and observers have urged the government to seriously address the dire issue, as Southeast Asia faces what the UNHCR called a “massive humanitarian crisis” following the Thai crackdown.

Golkar Party lawmaker Tantowi Yahya said the government must be pro-active in encouraging Burmese authorities to deal with their domestic problems — the root cause of thousands of Rohingyas fleeing through unsafe waters to find new homes, mostly aiming for Australia.

“Indonesia should lead other Asean countries in addressing the settlement issue for Rohingya Muslims,” Tantowi said in Jakarta on Tuesday. “We have political leverage over Myanmar,” Tantowi added, referring to the archipelago’s senior role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, of which Myanmar is also a member.

“We must use this as ammunition to push the Burmese government to solve this problem wisely and immediately.”

In search of a solution

International relations expert Dinna Wisnu of Paramadina University pointed out that Myanmar has gradually begun to open up about the country’s situation which has lead to the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims.

“But the solution still lies with Myanmar. The best we can do, as its neighbor right now, is to refrain from playing the blaming game. We must instead encourage  the Burmese government to solve this matter,” Dinna said on Tuesday.

“[Indonesia’s] approach must be constructive and cautious, because this is a sensitive matter to them,” she added.

Last week, top officials from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand held a meeting which resulted in four points that were later agreed on by the Burmese government.

Defense and foreign policy expert Bantarto Bandoro of the Indonesian Defense University echoed Dinna’s remarks.

“Although we can’t intervene with the Burmese government’s handling of its domestic issues, we can play an important role here,” Bantarto said.

“The Indonesian government and other Asean countries including Myanmar must sit together to find the best solution to end this exodus.”

“This is mainly a humanitarian problem. But the Burmese government should understand that Indonesia has its own limits, be it in terms of finances or facilities,” he added.

University of Indonesia international law professor Hikmahanto Juwana earlier this month suggested that Indonesia set up a refugee camp on one of its 18,307 islands, as it did for Vietnamese war refugees on Galang Island in Riau in the 1990s.

He also asserted, however, that Indonesia would not be able to run the center itself and would need financial assistance from other countries.

“Financially, we cannot run such an island alone. We would need help from other parties,” Hikmahanto said. “We need to discuss this option with the UNHCR,” he added.

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