Truck drivers strike against extortion

Truck drivers strike against extortion

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Truck drivers who use the Banda Aceh-
Medan road have staged a strike since last Thursday in protest
against rampant illegal levies along their routes, paralyzing the
local economy and distribution of food into and out of the
province.

"We are tired of the levies demanded by officers and hoodlums
along the road. Every day we have to spend millions of rupiah to
pay these levies," Tengku Supe, one of the drivers, said on
Friday.

The drivers have yet to set a deadline for their strike to end
and said they will continue with it until the authorities take
concrete measures to protect them.

It is reported that the worst areas with rampant illegal
levies are in the Banda Aceh-Medan road passing the East Aceh and
South Aceh regencies.

"In each regency there can be 10 to 15 posts and the drivers
have to stop and pay at every post ... and sometimes there are
posts which have set a certain price, such as Rp 20,000 per
trip," a driver said.

In many cases the trucks loaded with logs of wood or heavy
equipment have to pay Rp 200,000 to certain police/military
personnel to pass the road, he added.

"We cannot stand this anymore," the driver said.

As a result of the strike and reduced flow of goods to Aceh,
the price of food commodities has shot through the roof. People
were seen rushing to the market to stockpile food supplies just
in case the strike went on for a while longer.

"The price of a 'gallon' of mineral water has increased to Rp
12,500 from Rp 8,500," a local journalist said. Tomatoes are Rp
10,000 per kilogram from the previous Rp 3,000 and some kinds of
vegetables such as carrots have also became rare in the market.

Spokesman of Cinta Meunasah Sr. Comr. Kusbini Imbar urged the
drivers not to continue the strike as it would only cause the
people to suffer.

"Please do not burden the people with more problems ... we
believe that the drivers were forced to stage the strike by Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists since the rebels have been
frustrated by an intensive law and order operation along the
Banda Aceh-Medan route," Kusbini said on Friday.

The officer, however, did admit that the practice of illegal
levies took place in several posts and promised to handle the
matter properly.

GAM's Abu Sofyan Daud refuted the accusation, saying, "We
don't have anything to do with the strike."

Reports said that police and military assigned along a restive
section of the Banda Aceh-Medan route "were suffering from
financial difficulties since their salaries and food allowances
were very small and sometimes not even received at all".

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh urged the drivers not to provide
any reasons which might enable the officers to collect levies and
for the police/military to stop such illegal action.

Meanwhile, after days of calm in Aceh, violence resurfaced on
Friday in two separate incidents which took place in North Aceh.
Three people were killed, including an officer and two rebels.

Some 100 shops and fish market were burned in the incident.

"At 10 a.m. Brig. Ade Firmansyah and Brig. Nanang Suhendra
were patrolling in Lhoksukon market when suddenly a gunman on a
motorcycle sprayed bullets at them.

"Ade was killed instantly while Nanang was rushed to
Lhokseumawe General Hospital, some 30 kilometers from the
incident," North Aceh Police spokesman Adj. Comr. Abdi Dharmawan
said later in the day.

In a separate incident, two alleged rebels identified as Jafar
Ujud, 38 and Lukman Mustafa, 30, were killed in a gunfight at
Simpang Leupe village in Blang Mangat district, about 15
kilometers north of Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh, Abdi
said.

Around 10 a.m. the joint forces were patrolling the area and
suddenly they were ambushed by five gunmen. "The two died in the
process while the other three fled," the officer said.

The flow of Banda Aceh-Medan traffic was totally stopped for
over two hours due to the incidents.

Also on Friday, 1,000 police's Mobile Brigade arrived in Aceh
through the Malahayati Port of Krueng Raya in Aceh Besar on
board the KRI Teluk Parigi, a Navy battleship. (50/edt)