A television reporter kidnapped by separatist rebels in Aceh province six months ago has been shot dead in what authorities have described as an exchange of fire between his captors and Indonesian soldiers.
| "One step closer and the reporter gets it!" |
Ersa Siregar, a senior reporter for Jakarta-based RCTI private television network, was apparently killed on Monday during a clash between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and state troops in Kuala Manihan village, Simpang Ulin subdistrict, East Aceh district. "He was found dead alongside the body of a GAM member," provincial military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Yani Basuki was quoted as saying by Reuters. State news agency Antara reported that Siregar’s body had been evacuated to a hospital in Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh district. Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) commander General Endriartono Sutarto expressed his condolence on the death of the reporter. TNI’s Information Center issued a press release stating that Siregar’s body was found by soldiers following the shootout.
| "Yeah. Sorry we iced yer guy..." |
On June 29, Siregar and RCTI cameraman Ferry Santoro had been kidnapped along with their driver Rahmatsyah and two women said to be the wives of Indonesian military officials. Rebels have said the women were suspected of espionage, while the reporters were kidnapped to protest against severe restrictions on media coverage of the Aceh conflict.
| Hmmm... Yasss... That worked well, didn't it? |
The Indonesian government placed Aceh under martial law on May 19 and launched a massive military offensive to crush the rebel movement. Authorities in June banned journalists from reporting on GAM statements and imposed tough restrictions on foreign media workers seeking to enter the province. The RCTI crew’s driver Rahmatsyah was rescued on December 17 following an exchange of fire between marines and GAM members in Simpang Ulin subdistrict. He said he had been separated from the two television journalists about three months ago. The fate of cameraman Santoro and the female hostages is unclear, although they are believed to still be in rebel hands.
| We can guess what's been happening to the ladies... |
Siregar is not the first journalist to be killed during the ongoing military offensive in Aceh. On May 20, a cameraman from state-run television network TVRI, Muhammad Jamal, was abducted by unknown gunmen from his office in the Mata Ie area of Banda Aceh city. His body was found in a river on June 18. His eyes and mouth were reportedly covered with duct tape. The murder has not yet been solved. On November 26, reporter Arie Woelan from Jakarta-based Indosiar private television network was killed when an old armored vehicle he was traveling in plunged into a ravine near Jambi Baru village in Sultan Daulaut subdistrict, South Aceh district. The accident also left five soldiers injured, while Indosiar reporter Sisca T. Gurning suffered a serious head injury. The Jakarta-based Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and New York-based Human Rights Watch have documented several cases of journalists being intimidated and restricted in conducting their work in Aceh. Several journalists have been shot at by unidentified gunmen. On July 4, members of the Army’s elite Special Forces (Kopassus) attacked a local radio journalist who was reporting on civilians fleeing the military offensive. Aceh’s new military operations commander Brigadier General George Toisutta on December 18 apologized for the failure of his troops to rescue the RCTI crew and other civilians. |