Marines assigned to local fishing boats

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.