`RCTI' crew missing in Aceh<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Senior journalist Erza Siregar and cameraman Ferry Santoro, both
\nfrom private television station RCTI, went missing on June 29
\nwhile covering the war in Aceh, renewing concerns over the safety
\nof journalists in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The two reporters were returning on Sunday afternoon from
\ncovering a story in the East Aceh regency town of Langsa to their
\nhotel in Lhokseumawe in Aceh Besar regency. But they never
\narrived.<\/p>\n
\"Yesterday (on Monday) we were still calm about this,\" said
\nMariansyah, a senior RCTI journalist stationed in the provincial
\ncapital Banda Aceh. \"Not today, though, it has been three days
\nsince our colleagues disappeared.\"<\/p>\n
Also missing are Erza's driver, and two local guides who left
\nLhokseumawe with the RCTI crew.<\/p>\n
Their disappearance came just days after the martial law
\nadministration in Aceh issued a declaration limiting the movement
\nof journalists covering the military operation.<\/p>\n
It also marks the second disappearance of a reporter since the
\nmilitary operation in Aceh began on May 19. The first involved
\nBanda Aceh-based TVRI cameraman Jamaluddin who was found dead
\nafter he went missing for about a month. Unconfirmed reports
\ndescribed him as a supporter of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
\nseparatists.<\/p>\n
Aceh martial law spokesman Lt. Col. Ditya Sudarsono said they
\nwould help find the two, saying that Lhokseumawe Police had began
\nto search for them. According to him, rebels may have taken the
\nreporters hostage.<\/p>\n
RCTI declined to comment on the reporters' disappearance. But
\nDitya said the television company had sent a letter to the
\nmartial law administration, asking for help to find their
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
Erza is said to have good relationships with GAM leaders as
\npart of his job in covering both sides of the war.<\/p>\n
Unlike the previous military operation in Aceh between 1989
\nand 1998, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has been inviting
\njournalists to cover the war in a copy of the embedded
\njournalists' program during the war in Iraq in March.<\/p>\n
Reporters have been able to move freely in the province, and
\njoin the military operation. However, the disappearance of the
\nRCTI reporters followed the military's new rulings to tighten
\nmedia coverage of the war. Right groups have also complained
\nabout the strict access to the troubled province, and many
\nAcehnese activists have left fearing military intimidation.<\/p>\n
Edwin Nazir, an RCTI reporter based in Lhokseumawe said that
\nErza left Lhokseumawe at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning in a Kijang
\nminivan. Then, at 4 p.m., Erza called Edwin informing the latter
\nthat his team was leaving Langsa and hoped to arrive in
\nLhokseumawe at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
However, by 9 p.m. Erza and his team had not shown up, and
\nEdwin decided to call Erza, but his cell phone was out of the
\nservice area.<\/p>\n
There has been no further information about their whereabouts,
\nEdwin said. He predicted that the team went missing in Peureulak
\narea, a GAM stronghold.<\/p>\n
Reporters from various media retraced Erza's route from
\nLangsa, asking locals and officers whether they had seen the RCTI
\nKijang passing the route.<\/p>\n
Based on their accounts, the RCTI crew must have disappeared
\nin the Peureulak district in East Aceh regency.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the North Aceh regency office in Lhokseumawe and
\nthe local military command office came under mortar fire on
\nTuesday night. No one was injured in the attacks.<\/p>\n
Bandar Sakti District Police chief Adj. Comr. Subianto said
\nthe attack on the regency office shattered several window panes
\non the third floor and had damaged parts of the office's roof.<\/p>\n
It was the first mortar attack in Lhokseumawe.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rcti-crew-missing-in-aceh-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }