Aceh People's Congress rejects security deployment

Aceh People's Congress rejects security deployment

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The Aceh People's Congress (KRA)
organizers rejected on Tuesday the massive deployment of around
1,700 elite Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers to secure the
week-long event which is slated to start here on April 22.

"We neither need nor ask for that many security troops. KRA
has already organized its own security task force comprised of
students and Thaliban," congress coordinator Tengku Syamaun
Risyad said on Tuesday.

"We're afraid that the congress may regress into chaos due to
Brimob presence. We certainly do not want to give any impression
to locals that Jakarta is behind the event by dispatching a large
number of security forces. It will ruin everything," he said.

The congress is to be attended by around 1,700 participants,
including representatives of the Malaysian-based moderate wing of
the Free Aceh Movement Administrative Council (MP-GAM).

There is no confirmation of attendance by representative of
the armed wing of separatist rebels Free Aceh Movement (GAM) led
by Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie, Syamaun said.

National Police chief Brig. Gen. Roesdihardjo said in Jakarta
on Monday that the dispatch of four battalions of Brimob was
needed "so that the congress can take place safely and
successfully."

Days before the event, however, tension gripped Banda Aceh and
nearby Aceh Besar regency after outbreaks of violence rocked the
areas.

Locals complained about soldiers and Brimob officers
frequently spraying bullets, wrecking markets without clear
reason.

"They do it for a 'trigger-happy' expression and people are
terrified. We have filed complaints with the local police chief
about the matter," Aceh Besar councillor Tengku M. Amin Hasan
said.

Late on Sunday, around 11:30 p.m., two bomb explosions
destroyed two rooms in the regency office and local legislature
building in Aceh Besar. No casualties were reported in the
blasts.

Accidental causes were ruled out when police found a 15-meter
wire stretching from the bomb site to the main road, local police
chief Lt. Col. Sayed Husaini said.

Also in Aceh Besar, three bodies have been found, including
the remains of Muzakir, 32, who was found under the Krueng bridge
on Sunday with a gunshot wound to the head.

As a result of security concerns, two special airfields which
serve multinational companies in Lhokseumawe, the capital of the
giant industrial regency of North Aceh, have halted operations.

"The flights to and from Lhokseumawe have been temporarily
halted since Monday. Who knows what will happen next?" a senior
officer at Exxon-Mobil (formerly known as Mobil Oil Indonesia)
said on Tuesday.

The employees are now working at the company's branch office
in Medan, the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province.

Alleged separatist rebels have been blamed for attacks on the
airfield belonging to Exxon-Mobil, located 20 kilometers east of
Lhokseumawe and the Malikussaleh airfield, about 45 kilometers
west of the city. (50/edt)