U.S. soldiers bid farewell to Aceh

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Capt. Keith G. Nunn of the U.S. Marines waved good-bye as he and his comrades left the Novotel Soechi hotel where they had been based during their posting in Medan.

"Bye ... see you again," smiled Nunn, the coordinator of U.S. troops in Medan, who left the city with his colleagues on Monday after completing their mission to assist with aid distribution to tsunami victims in Aceh from the national coordination post in Polonia, Medan.

The 30-year-old and his colleagues were on their way to join other American troops on board the USS Abraham Lincoln before leaving the country.

"Today, the eight of us will leave Medan. There are no more American soldiers here, our job is done. Before, there were 18 of us in Medan, but most of us have already left, with some going to Thailand and Japan, as well as returning to the Abraham Lincoln," Nunn told The Jakarta Post before leaving the hotel.

He expressed his gratitude to Indonesians, especially the Medan people, for helping himself and his colleagues to successfully carry out their mission.

"I was very sad to see so many Acehnese fall victim to this disaster. I hope their time of suffering will come to an end soon," Nunn said.

The Americans first arrived in Medan on Dec. 30 to assist with the dispatch of aid from Polonia to Aceh.

Having been in Medan from Jan. 5, Nunn said he was quite impressed with Polonia airport.

"I respect and admire the work of the staff at Polonia. Even though it's a small airport, they're doing their best," he said.

On Monday, not much aid remained to be distributed at Polonia airport, and most of the equipment used by the U.S. troops had been removed.

Nunn said that the remaining U.S. equipment at Polonia would soon be taken away.

Coordinator of foreign troops in Medan, Air Marshall Ganjar Wiranegara, confirmed that from Monday all American troops would have left Medan.

Ganjar said their departure marked the end of their humanitarian mission in Aceh.

"The American soldiers will be replaced by volunteers who will continue with the rehabilitation mission. When the soldiers were here, everything went well. They helped us a lot, so there's no problem. Everything was under control, from the time of their arrival to their departure," Ganjar said.

In another development, Belawan police shot dead a suspected looter after the 19-year-old man was caught trying to steal relief supplies for tsunami victims from a police vessel in Belawan harbor early on Monday. The aid had been sent by National Police Headquarters and the East Java Police.

The dead man, Amrizal Harahap, died at the Brimob police hospital on the same day at 9 a.m.

Belawan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dedi Setio said on Monday that the suspect was one of six looters involved in the incident. He added that the suspect had been shot after he tried to shoot at the police.

"One of the suspects was hit but the other five managed to escape by jumping into the sea. Our officers are still hunting them," Dei said.