Journalists angry over police inaction

Journalists angry over police inaction

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Hundreds of Medan journalists staged a
protest on Thursday in the city, demanding that police officers
work harder to quickly capture the perpetrators who abducted
Ellyudin Telambanua, a journalist from Berita Sore daily
newspaper.

The 50-year-old journalist went missing on Aug. 24 after he
covered a story in South Nias regency where he was based, and
since then, his whereabouts remain unknown.

He was allegedly kidnapped by a group of thugs after covering
a murder story in Teluk Dalam district in the regency. The
abductions was deplored as it was not the first case in North
Sumatra. Earlier, a group of thugs attacked the office of Sinar
Indonesia Baru daily in Medan earlier this year.

Spokesman of North Sumatra police, Sr. Comr. Bambang Prihady,
said that the investigation into the case was going slow because
all the local residents remained tight-lipped about the incident.

"We have identified the suspect, but we cannot arrest him as
there are no witnesses willing to testify," claimed Bambang. --
JP