Marines assigned to local fishing boats

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

The Navy has started assigning Marines to local people's fishing boats in North Sumatra and Aceh waters in an attempt to eliminate marine security threats from pirates and armed groups and to interdict weapons supplies for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Belawan Navy Commander Commodore Koesno said the presence of Marines in the fishing boats is designed to monitor the movement of pirates who have intimidated and abducted local fishermen in the past few months.

"This is supposed to be a secret operation, but since the local people already know about it, we have to explain it to the public," Koesno said over the weekend.

Navy personnel have detained seven foreign ships in North Sumatra and Aceh waters on suspicion that they had smuggled weapons to GAM. Crew members of the seven ships are currently undergoing intensive interrogation by authorities.

Local fishermen have complained about poor security in the waters adjacent to the province as armed men often extorted money from them.

At least 50 crew members of two fishing boats near Berhala Island off Belawan port were abducted by the gunmen recently. They are still reported missing.

According to the local chapter of the Indonesian Fishermen's Association (HNSI), at least 121 fishermen have been abducted by gunmen over the last two years.

Koesno, however, denied suggestions the Marines were to protect fishing vessels belonging to commercial companies.

"We admit that we face difficulties in detecting crime committed by GAM on the high seas because they are often disguised as fishermen," Koesno said.

In addition, GAM often pirated fishing boats and company vessels, using them to smuggle weapons through waterways, Koesno said.

Koesno also said that his office could not fully guarantee security for local fishermen in the North Sumatra-Aceh waters because of limited personnel and equipment.

"This limited condition impedes our ability to guard fishing boats one by one," he said. The Belawan Naval Base I oversees 12 Naval Bases in Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, West Sumatra, and South Sumatra.

Separately, the North Sumatra governor T.Rizal Nurdin said that his administration would increase its budget to provide communication devices and patrol boats to secure the province's waters.

"Currently, we only provide Rp 1 billion for the waters security in our budget. We need to increase it, at least, to Rp 10 billion for the appropriation of necessary equipment," he told The Jakarta Post.