Police police deny report on removals, tensenees
Police police deny report on removals, tensenees
JAKARTA (JP): Scores of transmigrants and other outsiders have
reportedly been forced to leave Aceh, but police strongly deny
the report.
The Antara news agency reported on Saturday that a number of
transmigrants living in Gempang district in Pidie regency, Trumon
in South Aceh and Krueng Pase in North Aceh fled to safer places
over the past month after being intimidated by native Acehnese.
"However, we haven't received reports from the threatened
transmigrants and outsiders on the alleged expulsion," Lt. Col.
Sirwandi Lautar, chief of Pidie Police precinct, told The Jakarta
Post on Sunday by phone from Aceh.
He said that the report on expulsion of transmigrants was
baseless, since there were no transmigrants in Pidie regency.
South Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Gatot Subroto acknowledged
recently that some native Acehnese had asked transmigrants to
leave Aceh immediately.
"We still don't know whether these people had acted for
economic or political reasons," he was quoted by Antara as
saying.
A local resident on Jl. Listrik in North Aceh said that
certain irresponsible people had tried to drive transmigrants
away for the sake of getting cheap land.
"Some street hoodlums asked them to leave their settlements,
citing that the tense situation here would endanger their lives,"
the resident, who asked for anonymity, said.
"But, finally they persuaded them to sell their settlements at
cheap prices," he told the Post from North Aceh on Sunday.
He said, however, that in reality, some Acehnese did not like
outsiders to stay in the area.
Separately, Rusdi Thamrin, an expert staff of the Ministry of
Transmigration, urged the transmigrants on Saturday to stay at
their current settlements, and entrust their safety to local
security personnel.
"Although they have been terrorized, we have urged the
transmigrants not to leave their settlements and just trust the
local security personnel," Rusdi was quoted by Antara as saying.
Rusdi's appeal was aired following reports that some
transmigrants were preparing to flee after being intimidated by
local residents.
The number of disputes between the indigenous people and
transmigrants has steadily increased following rising demands for
independence.
Over 1,000 people were believed to have been killed and many
others suffered during a decade-long military campaign imposed by
the central government in 1989 to crush the separatist movement.
The latest incident erupted on May 3 in Krueng Geukeuh, 15
kilometers west of the North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe, in
which dozens of people were reportedly killed and at least 115
people were seriously injured.
The incident happened as the soldiers opened fired on a group
of local residents who were due to conduct a protest against the
military presence in Aceh. The local military leader said that
some people from the crowd opened fire first on the soldiers, but
local residents denied the statement. (01)