Foreigners barred from entering Aceh: Minister
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Coordinating Minister for People' Welfare Jusuf Kalla insisted on Wednesday that the martial law administrator in Aceh would issue a new measure soon, to bar all foreigners from entering the province.
Differing from a previous statement by the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Jusuf said that according to the state emergency law, the issuance of such a ban was the sole decision of the martial law commander and not of the President of the country.
Top Security Minister Susilo said in Makassar on Tuesday that the government would issue a decree to bar foreigners from any country, regardless of the type of visa held, from entering Aceh. He said it was to ensure their own safety and so they would not be able to "disturb" the military offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
"The ban will be discussed further, but it will be issued by the Aceh administration," Jusuf said on Wednesday, after accompanying President Megawati Soekarnoputri in a meeting with visiting East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.
The minister said that the government had already prohibited foreigners who work for non-governmental organizations, from entering or working in the province.
"A (special) arrangement for foreign journalists will also be set up," he added.
The planned issuance of such a ban follows the killing by government soldiers of a German tourist when he and his wife were camping on a beach in Lhok Gayo, Aceh Jaya last Wednesday.
Director of media relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wahid Supriyadi said there were around 20 foreign journalists who with permission covered the military operation in Aceh.
However, only half of that number still remain in the war-torn province.
The ministry said it had no data on the number of foreign humanitarian workers in Aceh, but according to an official at the United Nations (UN) office there were around 10 to 15 in Banda Aceh.
"That number includes several foreigners who are members of international non-governmental organizations," Wahid said, adding that currently, UN had only two staff members in Banda Aceh.
The two UN officials in Aceh are from the UN-Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) and the other is from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Meanwhile, an international media watchdog group has urged Indonesian authorities to guarantee the safety of a U.S. freelance journalist reporting with separatist rebels in Aceh.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in a copy of a letter to President Megawati on Tuesday, stated that the life of William Nessen "is currently at great risk."
The commander of the martial law, on Sunday, reportedly gave Nessen three days to leave before an offensive was launched against the GAM unit he was with.
Nessen, known for having rare access to GAM, last called his wife Shadia Marhadan by satellite phone on Tuesday afternoon and reportedly told her that he tried to surrender but was shot at by soldiers so returned to the GAM side.
"The Indonesian government has a responsibility to ensure that civilians including journalists are not harmed during military operations," the CPJ letter said as quoted by Agence France- Presse.
Wahid added that Nessen did have accreditation from the government to cover news in Indonesia, but has yet to get a special permit for Aceh.
"He was not among the 20 foreign journalists with official permission from the government to cover the military operation," the official told the Post.