Rohingya refugees who were temporarily sheltered were forcibly removed

Hundreds of local university students in Indonesia, where 137 Rohingya refugees are temporarily living. On December 27, the government hall of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, was raided and forced to leave.

The students demanded that the Rohingya refugees be transferred to the local immigration office and deported.

A student involved in the demand also told AFP that if the Rohingya cannot be deported, Aceh should resign as head of the immigration office.

Last November, more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees arrived in Aceh by boat, and the number of arrivals in this short period was the largest in eight years, according to the United Nations.

The students protested by burning car tires and prepared cars to move the Rohingya to other places, according to AFP news.

A student who participated in the protest said that they are protesting because they do not accept the Rohingyas coming to Indonesia.

The students who tried to remove the Rohingyas clashed with the police, and eventually the police allowed the students to remove the Rohingyas, AFP reported.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is concerned about the security of the Rohingya refugees who were attacked. He issued a statement calling for more protection for Rohingya women and children.

This attack on refugees is fake news online. UNHCR said it was due to misinformation and false hate speech.

The Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh after 2017 due to the Burmese army's terrorist attacks, are facing food shortages and vices in refugee camps. Indonesia, Indonesia They are fleeing by boat to countries such as Malaysia.

The Rohingya who have arrived in Indonesia have often protested against the acceptance of the Rohingya by the locals.

Although Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, it has accepted incoming Rohingya refugees.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on December 8 that although he would provide temporary aid to the Rohingya, he would prioritize the interests of the local people .

In addition , President Joko Widodo urged  international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR) and the international community  to help the Rohingya because the Indonesian locals did not accept them.

China and the military council are trying to implement the Kyaukphyu project quickly

Chairman of the Myanmar Special Economic Zone Central Working Group of the Military Council said that the deep sea port project to be implemented in Kyauk Phyu Township of Rakhine State is being implemented as soon as possible. 

On December 26, China and Myanmar signed a supplementary agreement regarding the implementation of the Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone deep sea port project in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.

Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone Management Committee Chairman U Kyaw Shwe Tun and Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone Deep Sea Port Company Limited Director Mr. Liang Chuanxin signed the agreement.

"Local residents are always suffering. Once, one or two projects have been implemented, but the locals do not get employment opportunities."

This project is about the living standards of the people in Rakhine State, including the Kyauk Phyu region. employment opportunities, U Aung Naing Oo, Union Minister of the Military Council, said that the project will promote and create the socio-economic development of the people in Myanmar.

Kyaukphyu residents told RFA that they have little faith in this statement.

The last Shwe Natural Gas Project in Kyauk Phyu Region, During the oil pipeline projects, the authorities gave incentives like this, but in the end it didn't happen and only the locals were affected, a resident of Kyaukphyu Township, Maday Kyung, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told RFA.

"Local residents are always suffering. Once there, one or two projects were implemented, but the locals did not get employment opportunities. The concern is that many of our local residents are worried. Since they are local people who only work in the fishing industry, if they are no longer allowed to work in those areas, I see that there will be a lot of suffering for the local people."

The military council also said that the Kyauk Phyu deep sea port project will be invested 30 percent by Myanmar and 70 percent by China, and will include ten piers that can stop container ships.

After the project is completed, seven million twenty-foot containers can be unloaded per year, and goods from Myanmar will be shipped from this Kyaukphyu deep sea port to Europe, He also said that it could be exported directly to South Asia and Africa.

The Union Minister of the Military Council, U Aung Naing Oo, said at a press conference after the signing yesterday that the local residents are willing and demanding that the project be implemented as soon as possible.

However, a Kyauk Phyu resident, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told RFA that the residents in the project area are only asking for the implementation of this deep sea port project.

“There are some local businessmen. They are the ones who are trying to give incentives to implement these. To be clear, the cronies. In the real project area, the places where you work and eat will disappear, There are those who will lose. They are difficult to welcome. They will lose their territories. They are worried that jobs will be destroyed."

The residents of the deep sea port project area are mainly dependent on the fishing industry, and they are worried that if the project starts, they will lose the fishing blocks that they have been working on without getting jobs.

Therefore, China and the military council will provide jobs for the locals. A local who closely monitors the Chinese projects in Kyauk Phyu told RFA that it is necessary to formally outline exactly what opportunities will be provided.

"Many Chinese projects have been done in Kyauk Phyu. Gold Natural Gas Project Oil pipelines and oil tankers A lot of port projects have been done. However, our local residents have very few employment opportunities and low incomes. What is the status of the project they will do now? I would like to openly show the public what kind of work they will offer if they get a job opportunity."

On the side of the military council, He also said that there is no hope for the local people from the Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone deep sea port project as the Chinese side has not officially presented it to the local residents.

Currently, due to the fierce fighting between the Military Council Army and the Rakhine Army (AA) in Rakhine State, it is not possible to implement these projects, a Rakhine resident who has been studying and monitoring Chinese projects told RFA.

"I see that this project will be started when there is political stability. If the political situation is not stable, this project cannot be started. Now when the civil war is big. At the stage of signing now, I am doing it because it is the work I have been doing since the past. The other side cannot fail. It is the kind of project that will have to pay big compensation if it fails. But in order to implement it on the ground, China will have to coordinate and prepare a lot."

On the other hand, the Rakhine Army (AA) dominates many areas in Kyauk Pyu Township and Ram Bre Township where the project will be built, and if the project starts, China will have to negotiate with the AA, he also pointed out.

RFA contacted the Yangon-based Chinese Embassy in Myanmar via email today to find out China's position on these claims, but has yet to receive a response.

In the statement of the military council, it was announced that the temporary charge of the Chinese embassy and some officials attended the contract signing ceremony held in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.

The two countries signed an agreement in November 2020 during the National League for Democracy (NLD) government to implement the Kyauk Phyu Deep Sea Port Project and the Special Economic Zone Project. A follow-up contract to that contract was signed yesterday between the Military Council and China.