Govt to deport foreigners detained in restive Aceh<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Medan<\/p>\n
Two foreigners detained by police in the worn-torn province of
\nAceh, will be deported for abusing their visa regulations and
\nbanned from returning, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
\nsaid on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu warned
\nthat all foreigners wanting to visit Aceh would be checked by
\nauthorities in the province.<\/p>\n
Directorate General of immigration spokesman Ade E. Dahlan
\ntold The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Tuesday that Lesley
\nMcCulloch, a native of Scotland, and American Joy Lee Sadler were
\non their way from Aceh to Medan for immediate deportation.<\/p>\n
The women were transferred from Medan, the capital of North
\nSumatra, to Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"The pair will be deported for abusing their tourist visas ...
\nwe are waiting for a request from National Police,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the women would be barred from returning to Indonesia
\nfor an unspecified length of time.<\/p>\n
Ade said the pair would likely be deported from Jakarta where
\nthey had entered the country, but could also be sent packing from
\nMedan should immigration authorities request it.<\/p>\n
The women, both researchers, complained about their treatment
\nsince the pair were detained by soldiers at a checkpoint in South
\nAceh and turned over to police last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"I am extremely disappointed with the conduct of police toward
\nus because they took our possessions and documents. They also
\ntook my cellular telephone so I could not communicate and contact
\nmy embassy,\" AFP quoted McCulloch as saying in Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
The women's comments contradict comments made by National
\nPolice chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to the House of Representatives
\non Monday, when he said they pair were being held for their
\nsafety.<\/p>\n
He said the women were questioned because they had carried out
\nactivities incompatible with their tourist visas and they were
\nfound with materials relating to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
\nseparatists.<\/p>\n
The material found on the foreigners needed further
\ninvestigation, hence the decision to move them to Banda Aceh, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He denied the authorities banned them from communicating with
\ntheir embassies.<\/p>\n
\"In principle, they can communicate and there is no such ban,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
In Medan, Ryamizard said any foreigner caught abusing their
\nvisa regulations would be arrested, adding such procedures were
\napplied in other countries.<\/p>\n
The Army chief also said that there was no need for additional
\nreinforcements in Aceh despite increasing tensions.<\/p>\n
More than 900 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in
\nthe province in the last nine months.<\/p>\n
Both the government and GAM have agreed to further mediation
\nefforts at the Henry Dunant Centre in Geneva, Switzerland by the
\nend of this month or early October.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-deport-foreigners-detained-in-restive-aceh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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