Abducted ExxonMobil workers released in Aceh
Abducted ExxonMobil workers released in Aceh
Debbie A. Lubis and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh
Three ExxonMobil workers kidnapped by separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels were released on Saturday afternoon without any conditions imposed on their release.
In other violence in the war-torn province, GAM gunmen shot and wounded a Golkar Party politician and killed a soldier in two separate incidents on Friday.
The three abductees -- permanent ExxonMobil employee Syarifudin Marasat Lubis and contract workers Samsul Bahri and Iskandar -- were heading home after they were released in North Aceh.
"I have no idea why they abducted us but one thing is for sure, they wanted us to give moral and material support to their struggle. The chief of Passe II region Tengku Ni also said that he wanted us to show the public that GAM does not kill civilians," Samsul told The Jakarta Post by telephone.
He said that he and his colleagues experienced and witnessed GAM's hospitality and stayed with other "arrested" hostages in a hut.
"They give us pillows, blankets, and mosquito repellent before sleeping while the gunmen slept on the floor," Samsul said, adding that the gunmen also provided them with food and soap.
"We broke our fast and prayed together with them," he said.
The three workers were abducted in the Tepuin Punti area as they headed to Lhokseumawe on Thursday. Samsul said that six motorists on three motorcycles forced Iskandar, who drove the car, to stop on the verge of the road.
Meanwhile, a Golkar Party politician was wounded by GAM on Friday evening after he refused to pay a Rp 5 million fee for a government project he was involved in.
Mahyiddin, 57, was shot in front of his house in Ujong Dua Belas village, Ingin Jaya, Aceh Besar regency after an argument with six gunmen.
"They beat me when I refuse to give them money. They shot me when I got a sword from my house," he said from Zainol Abidin General Hospital in Banda Aceh.
Also on Friday, First Brig. Kusnadi, a policeman from North Aceh Police Traffic Unit, was shot and killed by two gunmen when he was about to enter his house in Hagu village, Lhokseumawe.
"There are two bullets in his back and waist. We are still searching for the perpetrators," the police chief said.