Foreigners barred from entering Aceh: Minister

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.