Govt to release two stranded Australians

Govt to release two stranded Australians

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

Indonesian authorities are expected to release on Saturday an
Australian couple found stranded on the shores of Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam two days ago, pending an investigation into their
entry into the war-torn province, officials said here on Friday.

"They had no plan to visit Aceh and they did not know there
was a military operation underway," Imron Zubandi, a senior
immigration official investigating the case, said on Friday.

He said that the Australians, Claire Susan, 58, and her
husband John Humprey, 57, were sailing on a small ship to the
Maldives from Langkawi, Malaysia, when they were caught in a
storm and washed ashore in Aceh.

A preliminary investigation has revealed that the couple was
indeed the victim of bad weather. Also, they had all the
necessary travel and immigration documents, said Imron.

Imron said the Indonesian authorities were ready to let the
couple go to sail into international waters.

"However, the decision on whether they will be released will
be made on Saturday, pending the completion of the
investigation," he said.

Security forces found the Australian couple by accident while
on patrol on Nasi island on Thursday, the spokesman for the Aceh
martial law administrator, Col. Ditya Soedarsono, said on Friday.

Ditya said a preliminary investigation by the military and
immigration officers had found that the couple had not violated
any laws. A storm forced the couple to steer their ship toward
Nasi island for safety reasons.

However, the presence of the ship alarmed a group of military
and police personnel who were patrolling the area in search of
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

The security forces brought the couple to the nearby Aceh
Besar regency military command for questioning. The security
personnel initially suspected the Australians had violated a
decree issued by the Aceh martial law administrator banning
foreigners from entering the province without first obtaining
special permits from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

The government declared martial law in Aceh on May 19 to quell
an armed separatist movement.

Claire Susan said that she and her husband were doing well and
had done nothing wrong in Aceh.

"We just stopped in the wrong place and time," said Claire.

Meanwhile, Aceh military spokesman Lt. Col. Firdaus Komarno,
said Clairse Susan also holds a Canadian passport, which immigration
officers declared invalid.

On June 4, soldiers shot and killed German national Luther
Hendrick Albert, 54, and wounded his companion Elizabeth
Margareth, 49, after a villager reported suspicious movements
behind his house in Lhok Gayo village, Teunom district, Aceh Jaya
regency.

It was the first foreign casualty since martial law was
declared in Aceh almost three weeks earlier, when the government
warned foreign organizations and individuals against traveling to
the province for security reasons.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the time the couple had been in
Aceh since May 16 and had visited several places in the province,
including Takengon, Pidie and West Aceh.

In a separate development, Indonesian Military troops found on
Friday one grenade-launched mortar (GLM) and 10 kilograms of
explosives during a raid in Syamtalira Bayu district, North Aceh.

Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, spokesman for the TNI operation
command in Lhokseumawe, said the GLM and the explosives belonged
to GAM rebels.

Yani said TNI personnel were assisted by some 300 local
residents in the raid.

Also on Friday, TNI claimed to have killed prominent rebel
Adnan, 30, who was reportedly the head of GAM overseeing Kreung
Teupin village, North Aceh.