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.