'108 Acehnese have vanished'

'108 Acehnese have vanished'

Nani Farida and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

At least 108 people have gone missing in Aceh since the
government launched its integrated operation in the troubled
province on May 19, a police officer says.

Aceh police spokesman Sr. Comr. Sayed Husaeny said on Thursday
that those who went missing, believed to have been kidnapped by
members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), were civil servants and
village heads.

"We have received the information from the local people,"
Sayed told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Sayed said that of the 108 people, 30 were from West Aceh,
five from Aceh Besar, 16 from Central Aceh, 12 from East Aceh, 21
from North Aceh, nine from Pidie regency, and 13 from South Aceh.

"I have no information yet as to how many of them are dead,
because people usually file a report when someone has gone
missing, not when they find them dead," he said.

Among the missing are the two reporters of private television
station RCTI, who were kidnapped by GAM in late June on their way
to Lhokseumawe, North Aceh.

Sayed said four bus passengers traveling from Langsa to
Lhokseumawe were kidnapped by GAM last Thursday.

"Their fate is still unknown," said military operation
spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani.

The four, according to Yani, were taken by GAM to Paya Gajah
village in Peureulak, East Aceh.

At least two GAM rebels and one paramilitary Mobile Brigade
(Brimob) officer were killed on Thursday during a skirmish in
Blang Leout village, Aceh Besar.

The two GAM rebels were identified as M. Husen bin Abdul
Manaf, 25, and Muslem bin Abu Bakar, 25, while the police officer
was identified as First Pvt. Alex Mariadi. His body was flown on
Thursday to Padang, West Sumatra.

Sayed said the conflict flared up when Mobile Brigade members
besieged a house in the Leupung area.

"We received information from local people about the presence
of several GAM members in that area. The skirmish broke out when
police surrounded the suspected house."

At least 16 police officers have been killed and over 60
others injured since the government launched the operation to
crush the GAM rebels from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, where they
have been fighting for independence for the resource-rich
province since 1976.

The Indonesian Military (TNI), which deployed 35,000 troops to
Aceh, has lost almost 800 soldiers in the war aimed at ending the
decades-long rebellion.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said earlier that government troops had
managed to incapacitate at least 35 percent of GAM's 5,000-strong
guerrilla force in the past three months.

In Jakarta, the government hinted yesterday that it might keep
its massive armed force in Aceh for as long as needed to secure
the province.

Susilo said the government had never set a timetable for the
Aceh war, and that "The martial law will be applied for six
months and can be extended if needed. We have to ensure that the
operation proceeds effectively."

The top security minister underlined that there was no
immediate plan to downgrade the status of the security alert in
the province.

"We have to maintain the momentum toward a more secure
condition in Aceh," he said.