3 researchers, one guide kidnapped in troubled Aceh
JAKARTA (JP): Three employees of the Center for International Forestry Research have been kidnapped while traveling in southwestern Aceh, the Bogor-based center said on Thursday.
It said researchers, Budiawan Dwi Prasetyo, 34, Atim Gumelar, 24, Hardian, 23, and their guide, Idrusman, 48, were abducted last Saturday during the journey to the North Sumatra capital of Medan.
"They were stopped at a roadblock at Ujung Batu village by unknown individuals," the center said in a statement.
It said the police were informed of the incident by the team's driver, Supardi, 43, who escaped.
"They were taken to a house and then transported with their hands bound in a vehicle to an airstrip," it said.
The center said the police found no trace of the researchers except for the gutted wreckage of their vehicle. Supardi continues to be detained while the investigation continues.
The researchers were conducting a month-long field survey of the province's ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that at least three people were killed and hundreds more injured after security personnel opened fire to disperse protesters in front of a police station in South Aceh last Saturday.
Kontras coordinator Munir told a news conference that the protesters demanded the release of T. Raja Faisal, 27, who was arrested during a weapon search operation a day earlier.
"Faisal was arrested because he was found to be carrying a small rencong (a traditional dagger)," Munir said adding that the search followed the murder of a police officer on Sept. 8.
Aceh has been plagued by clashes between the military and separatist rebels. More than 250 people have been killed since May and thousands of people are seeking shelter in mosques, schools and government buildings due to fears of further unrest.
Hundreds of buildings, including schools, have been set ablaze by unidentified groups of men across Aceh since May.
Antara reported on Friday that presidential hopeful and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Megawati Soekarnoputri donated 8,000 packs of instant noodles and milk through a local organization to thousands of refugees in Pidie and North Aceh.
Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh are the three regencies which were worst affected by the military's antirebel operations from 1989 to 1998.
In Jakarta on Thursday, a charity night for the refugees in Aceh and another strife-torn province Maluku collected some Rp 365 million.
Among those present were Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung, his National Mandate Party counterpart Amien Rais, Hamzah Haz of the United Development Party and Abdurrahman Wahid and Matori Abdul Djalil of the National Awakening Party. (33/byg)