UNHCR TO GET ACCESS TO SRI LANKAN MIGRANTS;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000884 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, PRM, DRL; NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF ID BM CE SUBJECT: UNHCR TO GET ACCESS TO SRI LANKAN MIGRANTS; PROGRESS ON ROHINGYAS REF: JAKARTA 870 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate Medan. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: UNHCR has been given access to 55 Sri Lankans migrants who drifted ashore in western Aceh Province on May 14. The GOI, for safety and security reasons, moved the Sri Lankans from a warehouse to a prison, a move which upset the Sri Lankans who promptly went on a hunger strike. Meanwhile, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) continued discussions with the GOI on a humane and sustainable solution for the nearly 400 Rohingyas and Bangladeshis who have resided for several months at two Aceh camps. END SUMMARY. UNHCR GAINS ACCESS ¶3. (C) The Department of Foreign Affairs (Deplu) on May 19 gave UNHCR access to the 55 Sri Lankan migrants who landed on the shores of northwestern Indonesia on May 14. UNHCR Jakarta Resident Director Robert Ashe told Labatt that UNHCR will send staff to interview the migrants immediately. They will first be interviewed to determine whether they qualify for refugee status, to be followed by exclusionary interviews for any who could possibly be Tamil Tigers, Ashe said. ¶4. (C) Neither IOM, which completed its initial processing soon after the Sri Lankans arrived, nor UNHCR, have information on the background of the 55 Sri Lankans. The migrants are claiming to be escaping political violence in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Embassy is in touch with the GOI about the migrants and is seeking access. SRI LANKANS MOVED TO PRISON; GO ON HUNGER STRIKE ¶5. (C) The GOI, for safety and security reasons, moved the Sri Lankans from a warehouse to a prison, a move which upset the Sri Lankans who promptly went on a hunger strike. UNHCR will bend its policy of not interviewing anyone on a hunger strike because of the special circumstances, Ashe said. He added that the Sri Lankans are better off in the prison--where they are free to move around the compound and not locked in cells--rather than the warehouse. Deplu has proposed to move the Sri Lankans to the Sabang navy base camp, which is currently housing about 200 of the Rohingya/Bangladeshi migrants, according to IOM Jakarta's Steve Campbell. ¶6. (C) IOM said it told Deplu it would stop caring for both the Sri Lankan and Rohingya/Bangladeshi groups if the Sri Lankans are moved to the Sabang camp. IOM believes Sabang should not be turned into a long-term care facility. Hamilton said IOM is already caring for about 70-80 additional Sri Lankans in community settings who came to Indonesia in several groups, as part of its normal caseload. IOM and UNHCR are both advocating that the Sri Lankans be moved from Aceh to a more accessible location in Indonesia. TALKS ON SOLUTION MOVING FORWARD ¶7. (C) Meanwhile, both UNHCR and IOM have discussed with Deplu ways to assure a long-term solution for the nearly 400 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants who landed in Aceh in January and February. These migrants are being housed in two separate camps. IOM wants the Rohingyas to be moved immediately to guesthouses in a community setting in Medan, North Sumatra, so that they can live normal lives, Hamilton told Labatt. Deplu is balking at moving them from the current camps. As a compromise, UNHCR has proposed that the Rohingyas now in the more crowded Idirayeuk camp in eastern Aceh be consolidated with the rest of the migrants at Sabang island in northern Aceh, Ashe said. ¶8. (C) Approximately 220 Rohingyas from Burma asked for political refugee status and were granted it by UNHCR, Ashe said. Another 10 asked to returned to Burma but UNHCR convinced all but four of these to reconsider. UNHCR told Deplu that the GOI should not return these four to Burma unless the Burmese government agrees to give them proper documents as Burmese residents, Ashe said. SOME ROHINGYAS WANT TO GO HOME ¶9. (C) Approximately 40 other Rohingyas originally departed JAKARTA 00000884 002 OF 002 from Bangladesh and would like to return there. The remaining 119 migrants are apparently Bangladeshi nationals who were not granted refugee status, Ashe said. The GOI needs to work with the Bangladeshi government on confirming the citizenship and residency status of these persons. The Bangladeshis could be moved to the Tanjung Pinang immigrant detention camp in Riau Province, Ashe said. ¶10. (C) Mission will continue its conversations with the GOI to ensure a humane disposition of the Rohingya migrants. We also will report more on the status of the Sri Lankans as soon as UNHCR begins its interviews. HUME