Aceh truck drivers strike over extortion

Aceh truck drivers strike over extortion

JAKARTA (JP): Truck drivers in Banda Aceh, who daily transport
goods and staple foods to and from the North Sumatra capital of
Medan, said on Tuesday they would remain on strike.

The strike has caused an increase in the price of vegetables
and other goods in Aceh. After Takengon in Central Aceh, Medan is
the main supplier of many of the daily needs for people in the
province.

Antara reported that the price of vegetables had risen
threefold to Rp 1,500 per kilogram, while tomatoes had risen from
Rp 3,500 to Rp 8,000 per kilogram.

The price of red chilly jumped from Rp 1,500 to Rp 6,500 per
kilogram.

Truck drivers have been on strike to protest what they say is
rampant extortion by security officers along the highway
connecting Banda Aceh and Medan.

"We have not received any new deliveries of vegetables for
three days," a trader, Mawardi, told Antara.

This is the second such action by truck drivers, who also went
on strike in January. They ended this first strike after
receiving assurances from the police that they would put an end
to the extortion.

The drivers said they were now being extorted for more money
than they could afford to handover.

The strike has also affected the flow of goods like soybeans
and peanuts to Medan, which is the main gateway for non-oil and
gas exports from Aceh.

In a separate development, an alleged Aceh rebel was killed
and four military personnel were injured in an attack by Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists, a military officer said on
Tuesday.

According to the officer, the rebels tossed a grenade at a
group of soldiers passing through Alur Lebu village in Bireum
Bayeun district in East Aceh at about 10 a.m. on Monday.

An unidentified man believed to be one of the attackers was
shot dead during the ensuing exchange of gunfire, the officer
said. (50)