13 Rohingya Refugees Now Live In Pekanbaru Temporary Shelters

A number of Rohingya refugees were abandoned on Jalan Sudirman Pekanbaru after being abandoned by the person who drove them from Aceh. ANTARA/Annisa Firdausi

PekanBARU - Pekanbaru City Government, Riau, placed 13 Rohingya residents who were displaced in the local area some time ago in the "community house" or temporary shelter for refugees after the verification process by the UNHCR team.

Pekanbaru Mayor, Muflihun said the Rohingya residents would later be under the supervision of the Overseas Refugee Handling Task Force (PPLN). They are a combination of a number of agencies that oversee foreign refugees.

"That's what was in Pekanbaru yesterday, it ran, took a bus to Pekanbaru. So they ran away, not placed. Until today, we are still discussing the situation," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, January 4.

The city government together with regional leadership forums have twice held video conferences with the ministry to discuss refugee problems. There is a plan for the central government to find a special island to accommodate Rohingya residents.

"We also discussed this with Forkopimda, so that later we will find solutions related to the presence of refugees in Pekanbaru," he explained.

Muflihun appealed to the public not to worry about the whereabouts of the refugees. He assured the government and Forkopimda to care about the aspirations of the community.

"We do not arbitrarily accommodate the refugees, but all there are procedures that must be carried out," he explained.

In addition, it was emphasized that the city government was also ready to follow the direction of the central government regarding the handling of refugees. He said that until now there has been no specific directive from the central government regarding the plan to deploy new refugees.

Until now, there has been no official letter for the appointment of Pekanbaru City as the location for the placement of Rohingya refugees. He did not want the public to misunderstand information or issues that developed around refugees.