Boat people rescued off Indonesia

A group of nearly 200 people has been rescued from a wooden boat adrift off the coast of Aceh after 21 days at sea, Indonesian officials say. 

They are thought to be Burmese Rohingya - a Muslim minority group not recognised by Burma's military rulers. 

It is the second group of Rohingyas to arrive in Indonesia in a month. 

The plight of the boat-people has been highlighted recently because of allegations those found in Thai waters are mistreated by the Thai authorities. 

Indonesian navy officials said the small boat was spotted by fishermen on Monday. 

Officials said that the boat was so packed with people that many were forced to stand. 

Those on board had run out of food and water, and more than 50 are being treated in hospital in Indonesia for severe dehydration. 

Humane treatment 

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says the fact that their boat had no engine suggests that they too were victims of the callous expulsion policy operated by the Thai military up until last month. 
 
At least 1,000 Rohingya are already known to have been towed out into the Andaman Sea by the Thai navy and then set adrift. Hundreds are thought to have perished. 

But our correspondent says that total may be higher if this boat turns out to be part of another large group thought to have been cast out by Thailand last month. 

The policy has provoked huge international protest and the Thai prime minister has promised more humane treatment of the Rohingya in future, who have long suffered abuses at the hands of the Burmese military. 

Thailand insists the Rohingya are economic migrants not refugees, and should be deported. 

In a statement last week Burma's military government denied the existence of the Rohingya, saying they are not officially recognised as one of the country's 100 or so ethnic groups. 

There are thought to be up to one million Rohingyas living in Burma, in conditions described by the few aid officials allowed there as some of the most wretched in Asia. 

Hundreds of thousands have fled overseas, mainly to neighbouring Bangladesh, and to Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.