Abducted servicemen found dead in Aceh

Abducted servicemen found dead in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Marine Maj. Edianto Abbas and Chief Sgt.
Syarifuddin, who were abducted last December, were found dead
near Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, on Monday.

Kompas daily reported on Tuesday that their bodies, bearing
severe wounds, were discovered buried on farmland in Cot Trieng
village.

The military has said the Free Aceh movement was responsible
for the abduction on Dec. 29.

About 200 personnel from the Liliwangsa Military Command and
Lhokseumawe Police precinct were deployed to look for the burial
location. They were informed of the killings by a member of the
rebel group, Sulaiman, who was arrested in Muara Batu district in
North Aceh on Sunday.

Ediyanto's corpse was scheduled to be transported to Surabaya
in East Java for burial on Tuesday. Syarifuddin will be buried in
the provincial capital Banda Aceh.

Ediyanto, who led the marine task force in Aceh, was scheduled
to complete his assignment last month.

Born in Banda Aceh in 1963, Ediyanto graduated from the Navy
Academy in 1986 and married Fautia, also a Navy servicewoman, in
Surabaya in April 1992.

Chief of the Liliwangsa Military Command Col. Johnny Wahab
said Sulaiman, who was armed with an M-16 automatic gun when he
was arrested, was long wanted for his alleged involvement in the
abductions. The kidnappings prompted military raids on North Aceh
villages where rebels were believed to be in hiding. Several
civilians died in the fray.

Johnny said Sulaiman was arrested by a joint team on patrol
when he stopped his minibus at a gas station on the Lhokseumawe-
Banda Aceh highway.

He added that Sulaiman was shot in the leg after he resisted
arrest.

Meanwhile, 23 prisoners, including three political detainees,
escaped the Lhokseumawe penitentiary on Sunday. Two have since
been recaptured.

The daily reported the prisoners sawed through iron bars and
managed to flee from six wardens before heading to the city.

Chief warden Ace Herdarmin said the three political prisoners
were scheduled to be granted amnesty by the government this
month.

"The government will likely delay the release of the three
because of the incident." He said it was the third prison break
since August.

Ninety-eight prisoners escaped on Aug. 31, 1998, and 23 others
on Jan. 22. Most are still at large. (rms)