海上のロヒンギャ船を漁師らが救助、上陸拒否した当局に憤慨し　インドネシア

【ロスマウェＡＦＰ＝時事】インドネシア・スマトラ島沖で立ち往生していた100人近いイスラム系少数民族ロヒンギャが25日、海岸へと無事たどり着いたのは、新型コロナウイルスを懸念して収容を拒否する当局の判断に憤慨した地元住民の力添えによるものだった。（写真は今回救助されたロヒンギャ難民が乗っていた船）
　ミャンマーで迫害を受けて逃れて来た、子ども３０人を含むロヒンギャ難民９４人前後は今週、壊れかけた木造船から漁師たちによって助け出された。だがその後、スマトラ島最北端に位置するアチェ州の管海官庁が介入。同島北部沿岸に位置するロスマウェ市当局は、新型ウイルスへの懸念からロヒンギャの人々の上陸を拒否したという。
　その対応に憤った地元の人々は２５日、自分たちで何とかしようと船に乗り込み、ロヒンギャの人々を上陸させた。現場にいたＡＦＰ記者によると、海岸に集まった住民たちからは声援が上がったという。
　「全くの人道的な理由からだ」と、漁師の一人は動機を説明。「子どもたちや、おなかの大きい女性たちが海上に取り残されている様子を目にしてつらかった」と話した。
　地元の警察トップは２５日、ロヒンギャの人々を仮設の避難所に移送するのではなく、海上へ戻したいとしていたが、当局は住民らの意向を受けて態度を軟化させたとみられ、現在は人々を一時的に民間住宅に収容している。
　アチェ州の救急当局によれば、ロヒンギャの人々が新型ウイルスに感染していないか、医療従事者が検査を行うことになっている。
　国民の大半がイスラム教徒であるインドネシアはこれまで、ロヒンギャ難民を受け入れ、多くの滞在を許可してきた。
　だが、難民らが新型ウイルスを持ち込む恐れを危惧（きぐ）し、当局はここ数か月にわたり、受け入れを拒否するケースが続いている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/29-13:07）

Nearly 100 Rohingya asylum seekers stranded off the coast of Indonesia were pulled to shore Thursday by locals angered at the refusal of authorities to give them shelter over coronavirus fears.
Some 94 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority -- including 30 children -- were reportedly plucked from a rickety wooden boat by fishermen this week before being intercepted by maritime officials from Sumatra island who pulled them closer to shore.
But officials in Lhokseumawe city on Sumatra's northern coast refused to allow the group to land, citing coronavirus concerns.
Angry locals took matters into their own hands Thursday by jumping into boats Thursday which they used to pull the asylum seekers to shore.
Residents gathered on a local beach cheered the move, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.
It's purely for humanitarian reasons, said fisherman Aples Kuari.
We were sad seeing kids and pregnant women stranded at sea, he added.
Earlier Thursday, local police chief Eko Hartanto said they wanted to send the Rohingya back to sea rather than give them temporary shelter.
But authorities appeared to soften that stance in the face of local protests, and the weary group are now temporarily being put up in private residences.
The Rohingya would be checked by medical staff to ensure they were virus-free, according to Aceh's rescue agency.
Amnesty International praised the spirit of the rescue.
Today?s disembarkation of Rohingya refugees is a moment of optimism and solidarity, said Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid in a statement.
It?s a credit to the community in Aceh who pushed hard and took risks so that these children, women and men could be brought to shore. They have shown the best of humanity.
Indonesia and neighbouring Malaysia are favoured destinations for Muslim Rohingya fleeing persecution and violence in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, with thousands trying a perilous escape via smugglers across the sea every year.
Muslim-majority Indonesia has previously allowed Rohingya refugees to land and allowed many to stay.
But their plight has been compounded in recent months as officials have turned them away over concern they could be harbouring the deadly coronavirus.
Around a million Rohingya live in squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh, where human traffickers also run lucrative operations promising to find them sanctuary abroad.
On Wednesday, a coastguard official in Malaysia said dozens of Rohingya were believed to have died during a four-month boat journey to that Muslim-majority nation.
There had been more than 300 people on board the boat which was intercepted by authorities earlier this month, with 269 survivors given temporary shelter.
Some of them died at sea. They were thrown overboard, Zubil told reporters, without specifying the exact number.
Zubil said the group had been on a mothership carrying more than 800 people before being transferred to a second vessel.
Authorities have not found the original boat, thought to be now carrying around 500 people.
Authorities have yet to confirm if the group who landed off Indonesia's coast belonged to that larger group.