Aceh newspaper stops publishing

Aceh newspaper stops publishing

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Serambi Indonesia, the only daily newspaper
in Aceh, has suspended printing for unknown reasons over the last
three days.

Subscribers and the public alike have been at a loss as to why
the daily, which has become their prime source of information on
the restive territory, has not been published.

Serambi Indonesia's general manager Darmansyah refused to
explain specifically the reason for the suspension. He told
Antara, "Under present conditions, we find it impossible to do
balanced reporting."

Tension in Aceh remains high. Unexplained murders and attacks
on government offices and public facilities continue to occur. In
the latest incident, 30 plantation workers were killed in Idi
Rayeuk last week.

Darmansyah said that management of the newspaper, which has a
circulation of between 20,000 to 40,000 a day, was negotiating
with "certain parties" to reappear. He declined to name the
parties.