As more Rohingya arrive by boat, Indonesia asks the international community to share its burden
By EDNA TARIGAN and REZA SAIFULLAH
Associated Press
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia says it is appealing to the international community for help after more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on its shores by boat since November. Indonesia once tolerated such landings while Thailand and Malaysia pushed them away. But the growing hostility of some Indonesians toward the Rohingya, who come from refugee camps in Bangladesh, has put pressure on President Joko Widodo’s government to take action. There has been an upsurge of anti-Rohingya sentiment especially in Aceh, on the northern part of the island of Sumatra, where most end up landing.