Aceh NGOs urge government to locate IFA chief

Aceh NGOs urge government to locate IFA chief

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Nine local prominent nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) called on the government on Wednesday to do
its utmost to locate Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, the chief of the New
York-based International Forum on Aceh (IFA) who is missing
feared abducted.

"We strongly suspected that Jafar's disappearance is closely
related to his active efforts to uphold human rights in Aceh,"
Syaifuddin Bantasyam, the executive director of Aceh's Forum
Peduli HAM, said in a media briefing attended by local human
rights groups.

"Based on our observation, the pattern of his 'disappearance'
is similar to operations conducted by the military.

"Therefore we demand the government be responsible and help
locate Jafar," he said.

Similar calls also came from the monitoring agency Human
Rights Watch.

Antara reported that IFA had offered a Rp 20 million cash
award for whoever found Jafar.

Jafar was last seen in the North Sumatra capital of Medan on
Saturday. Police have stepped up efforts to locate him since
Tuesday but to no avail.

Among the nine NGO representatives at the briefing were the
chief of Aceh's National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM),
Iqbal Faraby, the chief of the Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Aceh, Aguswandi BR, and the head
of Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) in Aceh, Rufriyadi.

Ari Maulana of LBH Aceh said that Jafar's case was similar to
those of the missing activists in Jakarta around March 1998.

"If it is the military who have caught him, we are very
pessimistic he is still alive," he said.

Also attended the briefing was Djamaluddin Hamzah, Jafar's
younger brother.

Forum Peduli HAM activist Yarmen Dinamika said that in 1988
Jafar had came up against two of Aceh's largest companies, LNG
Arun and Mobil Oil.

"Jafar has evidence that the two companies provided facilities
for the military that turned out to be torture camps and that the
company provided equipment for the mass burial of victims of
violence for a certain period of time," Yarmen said.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman in East Aceh Abu Khalifah
claimed that whoever kidnapped Jafar was also responsible for the
murder of House member Tengku Nashirudin Daud and the
disappearance of GAM leader Ismail Syahputra, both of which took
place in Medan.

"We have been investigating this for quite sometime and we
think its the work of the Indonesian Military Intelligence Agency
(BIA)," Abu said on Wednesday.

In Central Aceh, a military subdistrict office in the Bandar
area was raided by gunmen with grenades. A police station in the
Bukit district was also burned down by an armed gang, Maj.
Zulkifli G.T. of the Central Aceh Military command said on
Wednesday.

Ambon

In Ambon, the capital of ravaged Maluku province, Governor
Saleh Latuconsina announced that no passenger ships would be
allowed to dock in the province beginning from Thursday.

The decision bars ships belonging to state shipping line PT
Pelni, namely KM Tatamailau, KM Rinjani, KM Dobonsolo, KM Bukit
Siguntang and KM Lambelu.

"These ships are barred from docking at ports in Ambon and
elsewhere in Maluku from Thursday through to Sept. 10.

"The main reason for the ban is because the minor blockade
imposed in Ambon has not been effective enough to prevent
'unwanted outsiders' from arriving and weapon smuggling.
Passengers were threatening ship's crews," Latuconsina said after
a security briefing here.

Commercial vessels are allowed to enter Maluku as it is far
easier to check and control goods rather than people, Security
Commander of the Eastern Fleet Commodore Djoko Sumaryono added.

Merpati Airlines has agreed to add an extra weekly flight to
and from Ambon, bringing the total flights to four times a week.

"There will be an additional flight on Friday," Latuconsina
said.

He also said at least 200 members of the Laskar Jihad Ahlus
Sunnah Wal Jamaah Islamic militia were sent back to Java on the
KM Rinjani from Yos Sudarso Port in Ambon at around 5 p.m. local
time.

In Denpasar, the capital of Bali, Badung Police officers
arrested on Wednesday Ambonese refugee Daniel Hanorsian, 23, for
illegal possession of firearms.

"We found a homemade rifle, a pistol and several bullets in
his house," Second Insp. Hartono of Badung Police said.

Daniel said he had bought the weapons for self-protection as
he had been attacked by rival Ambonese several times.
(49/50/edt/zen)