U.N. Bans Workers From Parts of Aceh

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BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – Security fears again threatened to hamper tsunami relief efforts yesterday, with U.N. officials banning aid workers from traveling in parts of devastated Aceh province following reports that fighting had broken out between Indonesian government forces and insurgents.


The travel ban also came after Denmark warned its aid workers to beware of an imminent terror attack – a caution that prompted U.N. officials to launch an investigation and declare a state of “heightened awareness” in Aceh, where separatists have been fighting for an independent state for decades.


Insisting that aid workers had nothing to fear, rebel leader Tengku Mucksalmina dismissed Indonesian government claims that insurgents might attack relief convoys in hopes of stealing food for their fighters.


“Our mothers, our wives, our children are victims from this tragedy. We would never ambush any convoy with aid for them,” Mr. Mucksalmina said from his jungle hideout outside Banda Aceh. “We want them [aid groups] to stay. We ask them not to leave the Acehnese people who are suffering.”


The travel ban between the provincial capital of Banda Aceh and the east Sumatran city of Medan came “strictly because of the fighting going on down there,” said a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Mans Nyberg. The ban is to be in effect from yesterday night until this morning between the two cities, a 280-mile stretch of road.


“There was reportedly a small battle between the army” and the rebels, Mr. Nyberg said. He didn’t know when the battle occurred.


The head of the U.N. relief effort in Aceh, Joel Boutroue, said the ban “was not due to any specific threat” and that it would be reviewed today.


A rebel spokesman in Sweden, Bahktiar Abdullah, was not able to confirm the reports of fighting. A spokesman for the Indonesian military in Banda Aceh, Colonel Nachrowi Dzajairi, said he had received no reports of fighting along the road.


“Obviously, given the fact that there had been conflict in the region, the staff who are there have to be careful, they have to watch what they do,” Secretary-General Annan told reporters at the United Nations. He said U.N. workers have not had any major problems with the rebels or any other group.


Relief efforts are being led by nearly 15,000 American troops – most of whom are docked off the coast of western Sumatra Island. Australia, Singapore, Germany, and other nations also have contributed troops.


Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa declined to say whether the U.N. precautions were necessary. He said that he could not assess them until he understood the rationale for the Danish warning.


But Mr. Mucksalmina said the security warnings were part of an ongoing Indonesian government campaign to discourage foreigners from getting involved because it would bring human rights abuses in Aceh to light.


“The Indonesian military is afraid of foreigners,” the 31-year-old commander said. “They are afraid of greater scrutiny of what’s going on in Aceh.”


Mr. Mucksalmina said his forces didn’t need to raid aid convoys because they had purchased a year’s supply of rice, instant noodles, and other food before the December 26 tsunami hit.


“We were ready to come down from the mountain to give our supply food, to help clear up the corpses, to help our people,” Mr. Mucksalmina said in a rare interview inside a wooden shack, guarded by about 15 fighters with M-16 and Kalashnikov rifles.


“But the military operations continued throughout December 26, 27, 28. On the fourth day, I lost two of my men” in a gun battle, he said. As he spoke, helicopters continuously buzzed overhead. Some of the rebels ate sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, and sacks of food and ammunition were piled nearby.


Other governments whose nationals are working in Aceh said they had not upgraded their security warnings in recent days.


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