During November to April, when the seas are calmer, many members of the persecuted minority leave Myanmar on rickety boats for Thailand, Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Mitra Salima Suryono, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency in Indonesia, said there did not appear to be any particular reason for the big number of Rohingya arriving.
Mitra said Aceh villagers had tried to prevent hundreds of Rohingya arriving in the Bireuen area in northeast Sumatra last week although they eventually came ashore on Sunday.
For years, Rohingya have left Buddhist-majority Myanmar where they are generally regarded as foreign interlopers from South Asia, denied citizenship and subjected to abuse.
Usman Hamid, the director of rights group Amnesty International Indonesia, called for authorities to take in the Rohingya and talk with neighbours, especially Malaysia and Thailand, where Rohingya also often stop.
Persons:
Rohingya, Adek, Mitra Salima Suryono, Mitra, Usman Hamid, Stanley Widianto, Robert Birsel
Organizations:
Reuters, Indonesia's, Amnesty International, Thomson
Locations:
JAKARTA, Indonesia's Aceh, Myanmar, Thailand, Muslim, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sabang, Aceh, Sumatra, South Asia, Bangladeshi, Cox's Bazar, Amnesty International Indonesia