Jakarta – Four Indonesian organizations are calling for the public to support a seafaring community known as Bajau Pela'u, whose members are being held at a shelter in Berau, East Kalimantan, after they were arrested by Berau Police.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the People's Coalition for Justice in Fisheries (Kiara), the Center for Ocean Development and Maritime Civilization (Commit) and the Archipelago People's Advocacy Service (Layar Nusantara) said in a press release that on March 12, the Berau Police had arrested 103 Bajau people who lived near Balikukup Island in East Kalimantan and escorted them to the social shelter in Tanjung Redeb.

The police found them without ID cards and originally planned to send the community to Malaysia or the Philippines. In the shelter, away from their usual surroundings, some Bajau Pela'u have fallen ill, the release said. The community lives on boats as their ancestors have done for centuries.

Bajau Pela'u people are stateless. For centuries, they have considered the waters around Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia their home, said the release.

The group of 103 people, which has now grown to 105 with the birth of two babies in the shelter, have chosen to live in Indonesian territory, around Balikukup and Tanjung Buaya-buaya islands.

NGOs have called for the government to recognize and protect the Bajau Pela'u as a special tribe that lives mostly out at sea. They have also asked the government to return the people to their home, which is the 16 boats they usually live on.