Vice President: Government Investigates Trafficking In Persons That Make Indonesia A Location For Rohingya's 'Refuge'

Screenshot / Vice President Ma'ruf Amin

JAKARTA - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the government was studying the alleged criminal acts of trafficking in persons (TPPO) behind the rampant number of Rohingya refugees entering a number of countries, including Indonesia.

According to the Vice President, the practice of TIP must be prevented so that the Rohingya refugee issue does not become a protracted problem, considering that Indonesia is not a country that ratifies the 1951 Refugee Convention.

"We are starting to learn why they came here, right, Indonesia is not a destination country, but a kind of transit. But here according to the information there is also a TIP, now this must be prevented so that in the future it will become a continuing problem," said Ma Ruf after attending the 2023 International Migrant Workers' Day Event in Jakarta as reported by ANTARA, Monday, December 18.

The vice president explained that in handling Rohingya refugees, the Indonesian government continues to coordinate with UNHCR, including to find shelters that do not interfere with the lives of local residents, as well as in preventing TIP.

"Then also prevent the possibility of efforts to bring in (Rohingya refugees) by the TIP syndicate suspected to be behind the Rohingya arrival. We will be aware of that," said the Vice President, asserting.

Vice President Ma'ruf said the government's decision to accommodate Rohingya refugees was based on the principle of humanity. "But of course this also requires a lot of money, that's why we coordinate with the UNHCR responsible (to deal with refugees)," he said.

Meanwhile, the Banda Aceh Police Criminal Investigation Unit arrested and named a Rohingya citizen, Muhammed Amin or MA, as a suspect in a criminal case of alleged human smuggling into Indonesia.

"The suspect has the initials MA, 35 years old, from Myanmar; he is a refugee Camp 1 Block H-88 Kutupulum, a Rohingya ethnic shelter location in Cox's Bazar Bangladesh," said Banda Aceh Police Chief Kombes Fahmi Irwan Ramli.

Fahmi explained that the suspect MA was one of the Rohingya ethnic groups in the group of 137 Rohingya refugees who landed on the Coast of Blang Ulam Hamlet, Lamreh Village, Mesjid Raya District, Aceh Besar District, Aceh, on Sunday (10/12).

The asylum seeker group from Rohingya is still in the underground parking lot of Balai Meseuraya Aceh (BMA), Banda Aceh.

The Supreme Court was named a suspect on Saturday (15/12) and detained at the Banda Aceh Police Headquarters. After being named a suspect, MA admitted that he was assigned to invite and coordinate Rohingya ethnic residents to leave the shelter camp from Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh to Indonesia, provided that residents who wanted to participate had to pay some money.

"The suspect served as a ship driver assisted by witnesses AH and HB. Then, the suspect was also tasked with distributing food and drinks to ship passengers and assisted by witness AH," said Fahmi.

Based on the results of the examination, every Rohingya citizen who wants to leave the camp in Bangladesh to Indonesia is charged 100-120,000 or around Rp. 14-16 million per person.

Based on UNHRC data in the past month, the wave of Rohingya refugees entering Indonesia has exceeded 1,600 people, most of whom landed in Aceh.