Officials blame GAM for piracy, request more funding
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Fishermen in the province of North Sumatra have complained about the increasing number of pirate groups who extort money from ship crews sailing in the water off the troubled Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province.
Fishermen in the Belawan seaport told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that the outlaws usually automatic rifles such as AK 47s.
The pirates usually extort money from crews of ships sailing around the waters of Aceh or Langkat regency in North Sumatra.
Businessman Piter Gultom, who owns a number of fishing vessels, said that he had to have at least Rp 5 million as a "contingency fund" every time he went out fishing.
"The armed groups demand between Rp 1 million to Rp 2 million. Sometimes, we have to give out up to Rp 4 million a day for all the groups we come across," Gultom said, adding that he could not identify the armed groups because they wore masks.
However, chief of Naval base in Belawan Commodore Koesno suspected that the armed groups were members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
He said he believed the outlaws were GAM members because many evidence recovered by his staff belonged to the separatist group. He did not mention what sort of evidence.
Akui, a ship owner, said that extortion cases were on the rise. He added that he had to carry more money to protect his ship from the outlaws.
Another ship owner Apiu said he had to avoid Aceh waters and sail via other routes. He added that he could not tolerate such frightening conditions while working.
Recently, two boat owners of Chinese descent were abducted by armed men when they were sailing to shrimp ponds in Tanjungpura district, Langkat regency, North Sumatra.
The abductors held the businessmen hostage and demanded ransom worth Rp 500 billion and a new boat for their release.
Deputy speaker of the provincial legislative council (DPRD) Serta Ginting said that the increased amount of extortion indicated a lack of coordination among security forces.
Detective police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Mardi Rukmianto concurred with Ginting, saying the security condition had worsened due to weak law enforcement.
Capt. Hadi Pangestu of the Belawan naval base said the poor security condition was due to a lack of infrastructure, personnel and budget.
Councillor Ginting disclosed that a report from the province's office of fishery and marine affairs and the police unit showed that the figure of sea crimes had been rising each year.
He added that the number of robberies, abductions and shootings of fishermen in 2000 was 19 cases while the number of similar crimes in 2001 and in 2002 was 28 and 30 respectively.
Ginting suggested that the local administration increase the budget for security affairs so that piracy could be reduced.