Chaerul installed as Aceh Police chief

Chaerul installed as Aceh Police chief

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Brig. Gen. Chaerul R. Rasyidi was sworn
in as Aceh's new police chief on Tuesday and pledged to promote
peace among the province's 4.2 million population.

Chaerul said in his address that he would work with the people
to restore peace in the province, which for years has been rocked
by bloody clashes between separatists and the Indonesian Military
and police.

The transfer of duty ceremony, led by Insp. Gen. Muhammad
Nurdin on behalf of the National Police chief, took place at the
Bhayangkara building in Banda Aceh.

After the ceremony, Nurdin called on every layer of society in
Aceh to help the new police chief carry out his duty to restore
peace in Aceh.

"Give him a chance to calm the atmosphere," Nurdin was quoted
by Antara as saying.

Chaerul replaced Brig. Gen. Doddy Sumantyawan, who was
transferred to Central Java to be the deputy governor of the
Semarang Police Academy.

Doddy held the Aceh Police chief post for only three months.

Meanwhile, Aceh Besar Police chief Supt. Sayed Hoesainy said
on Tuesday that Kuta Baro Police chief Second Insp. Dadang
Purnomo and Mobile Brigade platoon commander Second Sgt. Mansur
were abducted by armed civilians on Oct. 5.

"The two officers were kidnapped by two armed men on a
motorcycle while on their way to an area east of the subprecinct
on Thursday," he said.

Witnesses identified the abductors as members of the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM), he said, adding that an Aceh Besar police
officer, Pvt. Sulaiman Yacub, was also abducted by the same group
of people.

He speculated that Sulaiman was picked because he knew too
much about the kidnapping of the other two officers.

In Banda Aceh, GAM denied responsibility for the disappearance
of the officers.

"We have checked several GAM posts in Aceh Besar and found
none of them. We are not responsible for that (the alleged
abductions)," GAM spokesman Amni bin Marzuki told the Joint
Committee for Security Modality of the Humanitarian Pause.

Meanwhile, gun battles in Aceh continued despite an agreement
between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian
government to extend the humanitarian pause.

On Monday, two men were shot dead and two others were injured
in East Aceh during an operation by soldiers and members of the
police's Mobile Brigade.

Thirteen people were arrested, an activist told The Jakarta
Post, adding that all the victims were civilian residents of
Naleung village in Julok district.

Zulkarnaini, coordinator of the Youths and Students Against
Violence Front (Fomapak), identified the dead as Muhammad Amin,
21, and Saiful, 32. The injured are Syarifah binti Abdullah, a
30-year-old woman, and Samin bin Ali, 42. They are being treated
at Langsa General Hospital.(50/lup/sur)