More boat people, three media reports

Three articles on Rohingyas set adrift by the generous, kind and loving Thai Navy/authorities, pushed out of their homes by the so generous, Bhuddhist, loving Than Shwe and the loving, caring Indonesia trial them and threat with deporting them back to the root of the drifters' problems. If this is love, we must show them the real meaning of LOVE, KINDNESS and CARING for HUMAN BEINGS.

• * 200 migrants found adrift
• * Boat people set adrift by Thailand land in Indonesia
• * Nearly 200 Myanmar migrants found off Indonesia

200 migrants found adrift

BANDA ACEH (Indonesia) - A WOODEN boat with nearly 200 Myanmar migrants on board was found drifting off Indonesia's Sumatra island, a local navy official said on Tuesday.

The migrants, from Myanmar's minority Muslim Rohingya community, told their rescuers they had been adrift for three weeks after being towed out to sea and abandoned by Thai security forces, navy lieutenant Tedi said.

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A region squeezed between two worlds He told AFP that the migrants said 20 people had died at sea during their journey to Sumatra.

'Fishermen found a wooden boat without an engine drifting in the sea with 198 Myanmar migrants. They said Thai authorities towed them out to sea and set them adrift,' Mr Tedi said.

'They were drifting for about 21 days. Most of them are in critical condition and are receiving treatment at a local state hospital in East Aceh district.'

The migrants said they had left their homes in Myanmar's western Arakan state because they were being forced to embrace Buddhism.

Myanmar's military rulers effectively deny citizenship rights to the Rohingya, leading to discrimination and abuse and contributing to a regional humanitarian crisis as hundreds try to flee the country by boat every year.

About 1,000 Rohingya were allegedly abused by Thai security forces and dumped at sea in recent weeks, but so far only about 650 have been found in Indonesian and Indian waters, leading to grave fears for the rest.

'Some of them are families. They have been driven out of Thailand.

Communication is still difficult as most of them don't speak English,' Tedi said.

Indonesia found about 170 Rohingya migrants adrift off Sumatra on January 7 and has said they probably will be repatriated to Myanmar despite their fears of persecution if they are forced to return. -- AFP

Boat people set adrift by Thailand land in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia: An Indonesian navy official says 198 boat people from Myanmar have been picked up off the coast of Aceh in critical condition.

Officer Tedi Sutardi, citing witness accounts, said Tuesday that 22 passengers died on a 21-day voyage from Thailand.

The small wooden boat was found by fisherman Monday drifting off northern Sumatra.

Sutardi says it had no engine and that the passengers had run out of food and water.

It is the second load of Rohingyas, a stateless Muslim group facing decades of persecution in Myanmar, to arrive in Indonesia in a month.

Sutardi says the survivors recounted being beaten and set adrift by Thai authorities.


Nearly 200 Myanmar migrants found off Indonesia

Rohingya migrants outside Ranong police station

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: A wooden boat with nearly 200 Myanmar migrants on board was found drifting off Indonesia's Sumatra island, a local navy official said Tuesday.

The migrants, from Myanmar's minority Muslim Rohingya community, told their rescuers they had been adrift for three weeks after being towed out to sea and abandoned by Thai security forces, navy lieutenant Tedi said.

He told AFP that the migrants said 20 people had died at sea during their journey to Sumatra.

"Fishermen found a wooden boat without an engine drifting in the sea with 198 Myanmar migrants. They said Thai authorities towed them out to sea and set them adrift," Tedi said.

"They were drifting for about 21 days. Most of them are in critical condition and are receiving treatment at a local state hospital in East Aceh district."

The migrants said they had left their homes in Myanmar's western Arakan state because they were being forced to embrace Buddhism.

Myanmar's government effectively denies citizenship rights to the Rohingya, leading to discrimination and abuse and contributing to a regional humanitarian crisis as hundreds try to flee the country by boat every year.

About 1,000 Rohingya were allegedly abused by Thai security forces and dumped at sea in recent weeks, but so far only about 650 have been found in Indonesian and Indian waters, leading to grave fears for the rest.

"Some of them are families. They have been driven out of Thailand. Communication is still difficult as most of them don't speak English," Tedi said.

Indonesia found about 170 Rohingya migrants adrift off Sumatra on January 7 and has said they probably will be repatriated to Myanmar despite their fears of persecution if they are forced to return.

- AFP/yt