Jakarta
The United Nations Refugee Agency and various rights groups demanded responsibility and concrete action from nations grouped under a regional antipeople-smuggling forum known as the Bali Process, following the latest wave of stranded Rohingya refugees disembarking in Indonesia. As many as 297 Rohingya were rescued by local authorities off the coast of Aceh on Monday, after months of drifting at sea in dire conditions. The rescue effort follows a similar incident in June when local fishermen saved around a hundred refugees stranded in the waters off northern Aceh. Originally from Myanmar, the refugees reportedly departed from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh in February but were left to fend for themselves for over 200 days at sea after failed attempts to disembark. Malaysian and Thai authorities reportedly pushed them away as borders tightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ...