The Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC) expresses its deepest sorrow and strongest condemnation following the tragic sinking of a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and other migrants off the coast of Malaysia, near the Thailand–Malaysia maritime boundary. According to Malaysian maritime authorities, one body has been recovered and “dozens” remain missing after an overloaded vessel believed to be carrying about 90 people capsized near the area of Tarutao Island, Thailand, drifting toward Langkawi Island, Malaysia.
The incident reportedly involved migrants who initially boarded a larger vessel in Myanmar’s Arakan State carrying 300 Rohingya from Buthidaung Township and then transferred to smaller boats to avoid detection when it came closer to the Malaysian coast.
This horrific event must not be seen as a mere accident. It is another consequence of the ongoing genocidal persecution and campaign of erasure against the Rohingya people in their ancestral land of Arakan State, Myanmar. ARNC has repeatedly warned that the Arakan Army (AA) has undertaken a systematic campaign to render Arakan Rohingya-free through killings, forced displacement, arbitrary arrests, force recruitment, destruction of Rohingya villages and policies of siege. These brutal tactics have left thousands of Rohingya civilians trapped without food, security or hope, pushing many into deadly sea crossings out of desperation.
This tragedy is not simply an unfortunate occurrence; it is the direct result of the Arakan Army’s atrocities and the sustained persecution that continue to drive Rohingya families into the sea, where countless lives are being lost.
ARNC strongly condemns these inhuman acts and issues an urgent call for international intervention to end the suffering of the Rohingya people.
