Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 3 april 2018

Malaysia set to intercept boat said to be carrying Rohingya

BANGKOK (AP) — Ma- one. "Many people are
laysian authorities said eager to leave, but at the
Monday that they have same time they are afraid
stepped up patrols to inter- of the risks they are taking,"
cept a boat thought to be said the man, Faizel, who
carrying dozens of people wanted to be identified by
from Myanmar's belea- just one name out of con-
guered Rohingya Muslim cerns for his safety. "Some
minority seeking refuge in Rohingya have been ar-
the country. rested while trying to flee
Meanwhile, an expert on to the cities by land inside
the plight of the Rohingya Myanmar and some are ar-
said the sighting of the boat rested by the coast while
people does not portend a trying to flee by boat."
new exodus by sea. He said he had heard
The Malaysian Maritime En- that people were paying
forcement Agency said it 300,000 kyats ($225) per
has increased patrols in the person on departure from
Malacca Straits and Anda- Myanmar, but no one was
man Sea, especially near In this March 31, 2018, photo, a man catches a bottle of water thrown from a tourist boat a day clear how much they had
Langkawi island, after hear- prior to it being found underneath a bridge near to a Thai island, damaged in a storm. to pay on arrival in another
ing of Sunday's stopover of Associated Press country, a common prac-
a fishing boat with 56 peo- tice. "But now is not a good
ple at an island in southern hingya landing in Thailand ing season as well. So, we hingya man who lives near time for people to leave
Thailand's Krabi province. being taken by human do not expect a mass exo- Sittwe confirmed Lewa's because of the weather.
The boat stopped at the is- traffickers and forced into dus at least until after the account, saying there had Winter time would have
land because it had been near-slavery, held for ran- monsoon," said Lewa, re- been only three boats that been better, but during
damaged in a storm. Thai som or otherwise abused. ferring to the usual onset of he knew of that had left the past winter, we had re-
officials said it was repaired Most Rohingya prefer to the annual monsoon sea- Sittwe since December, ally strict security here and
and supplied with food and head to Malaysia, whose son in April. She noted as one going to Bangladesh it was difficult to leave,"
fuel, and sent on its way dominant Malay Muslim well that Myanmar's border and the second seemingly he said. "Whenever the
to predominantly Muslim population makes it a more security is tight enough to having disappeared. He weather is better and the
Malaysia, the destination sympathetic destination, limit unauthorized boat de- said he assumed the boat security loosens up, many
sought by those aboard. although its policy on al- partures. A displaced Ro- in Thailand was the third people will leave."q
Rohingya, treated as unde- lowing them in is somewhat
sirables in mostly Buddhist nebulous.
Myanmar, used to flee by Chris Lewa of the Arakan French train strikes aim to
sea by the thousands each Project, an independent
year. About 700,000 have research and advocacy
since last August to escape came from Sittwe, the cap- disrupt travel, test Macron
group, said the boat that
fled western Myanmar's Ra-
khine state to Bangladesh stopped at the Thai island

a brutal counterinsurgency ital of Rakhine state but dis-
campaign by Myanmar's tant from the violence that PARIS (AP) — Trains around strike will halt 85 percent of plan strikes two days ev-
army. Thailand has an offi- has uprooted hundreds of France are grinding to France's high-speed trains ery week through June to
cial policy of pushing back thousands. a stop as unions stage a and 75 percent of regional protest government plans
boat people from its shores. "There will be one or anoth- mass strike to challenge trains. to eliminate some rail
Those who have landed in er like this arriving. We can President Emmanuel Ma- The walkout — which start- worker benefits — part of
recent years — especially say that there have been a cron's strategy for making ed Monday evening and is broader European plans
during a deluge of boat few attempts of boats flee- his country more economi- to last through Wednesday to open national railways
people in 2015 — have ing, but they were aborted cally competitive. morning — is also reduc- to competition. A quarter
been kept in detention and this boat seems to be Passengers are sharing cars ing train traffic on the Eu- of Air France flights will be
centers. There have also the first to make it," she said. or canceling trips after na- rostar to Britain and trains grounded Tuesday by a
been many cases of Ro- "It is also the end of the sail- tional railway SNCF said the to Germany. French unions separate strike over pay.q