Indonesia holds 35 Rohingya
Muslims from Myanmar

An ethnic Rohingya refugee who was among
two boatloads of asylum-seekers from
Myanmar rescued by Indonesian fishermen
off Sumatra island registers names of new
arrivals in Indonesia's Aceh province on March
1, 2013. Indonesian police on Friday arrested
35 Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar who
planned to make the treacherous sea
crossing to Australia to seek asylum
a spokeswoman said.

Indonesian police on Friday arrested 35 Muslim Rohingya
from Myanmar who planned to make the treacherous
sea crossing to Australia to seek asylum, a spokeswoman said.

It came the same day Rohingya being held at a detention
centre on Sumatra island beat to death eight Buddhist
detainees from Myanmar after being enraged
 by photos of recent communal violence in their homeland.

Rohingya, described by the United Nations as one of the
world's most persecuted minorities, have fled Myanmar
in their thousands since Buddhist-Muslim tensions
exploded in their home state of Rakhine last year.

The 35 migrants, who included 12 children, were arrested
at a flat in the city of Surabaya, East Java province, for not
having the necessary immigration documents
to be in Indonesia
said local police chief Wiji Suwartini.

"They planned to go to Australia," she told AFP
adding that they would be sent to an immigration
detention centre in the city.

An increasing number of Rohingya have
been arriving on Indonesian shores
where many face long stints in detention awaiting
UN assessment for refugee status.

Friday's attack at the detention centre in
Belawan underscored the soaring
Muslim-Buddhist tensions that have cast a
shadow over political reforms in Myanmar
which have brought an end to decades of
authoritarian military rule.

Australia is facing a steady influx of
asylum-seekers arriving by boat
many of whom use Indonesia as a
transit hub, paying people-smugglers for
passage on leaky wooden vesselsafter fleeing
their home countries.

Hundreds have died making the
treacherous journey over the
past few years.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/344148/indonesia-holds-35-rohingya-muslims-from-myanmar