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)