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)