Indonesia Will Never Turn Back Refugee Boats: Spokesperson

Jakarta, May 15 (Antara) -- Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha Nasir emphasized that Indonesia will never turn back refugee boats that enter its territory. Nasir made this statement with regard to the 582 Rohingyas who were washed ashore in northern Aceh, Sumatra Island, on Sunday, May 10. "I want to underline that even though Indonesia is not part of the Vienna Convention on Refugees 1951, we provided them shelter, food and water. What we did not do was set them on lifeboats and send them away to one of our 17,000 islands," he remarked here on Friday. The Indonesian government has been working with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration to list the Rohingya refugees in northern Aceh, after which they will plan to move them to a safe house, the spokesman said. He also pointed out that Indonesia took the non-refoulement approach in treating the refugees who entered its territory, by providing them the help they needed. "The next course of action will be handled by the UNHCR, while our main responsibility is to ensure the safety of the refugees," Nasir noted. Moreover, he confirmed that another refugee boat had passed Malacca Strait and caught up with an Indonesian Navy vessel on routine sea patrol duty. According to the navy's report, Nasir stated that the KRI Sutanto vessel had interacted with a boat with unknown number of refugees on board in the Malacca Strait region. "They did not indicate that they were heading to Indonesia but asked for clean water, food and fuel. As they seemed to be passing through Malacca Strait innocently, we gave them what they needed and set them free," he explained. "I will make it clear that the Indonesian Navy neither refused nor turned the refugee boat back as it passed through out water territory, where the right of innocent passage is applicable," Nasir pointed out. According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the right of innocent passage allows a vessel to pass through the territorial waters of another state subject to certain restrictions. The passage is innocent as long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state. "That is why we do not have the right to forbid anyone to pass through that region," Nasir said. Currently, an in-depth investigation is underway to find out the exact location where the navy and the boat interacted, the ministry spokesperson revealed.