Exxon-Mobil chartered plane shot in Aceh, two injured
Saturday, April 1 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
An unidentified group believed to be members of the Aceh separatist rebels shot a chartered plane and wounded two employees of multinational company Exxon-Mobil Inc. in its airfield in Lhokseumawe on Friday, officials said.
Police said that Beechcraft plane operated by PT Pelita Air Service was attacked by two men shortly after it landed at the airfield in the North Aceh industrial city 7:45 a.m.
"The two men armed with AK-47 rifles shot the plane from a position outside the airfield fence. They immediately ran away on a motorcycle," Aceh Police chief Brig. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman said. The attack left seven bullet holes in the plane, which transported 15 passengers, he said.
Two wounded employees were identified as Brisman Simanjuntak, 35 and Jamaluddin, 40. Both Brisman, who was shot in his right hand, and Jamaluddin in the left shoulder are currently treated at a hospital in Lhokseumawe.
The plane was scheduled to fly back to Medan at 5 p.m. Due to the shooting the regular flight was temporarily halted and the plane was repaired at the local airplane hangar.
Bachrumsyah believed that the plane shooting was aimed mainly at stirring stability in Aceh. The security officers are currently hunting them down, he said.
The airfield, which has a 1,800-meter-long and 30-meter-wide runaway, is located within the company compound in Nibong village of Tanah Luas district in Lhoksukon, 20 kilometers east of Lhokseumawe. It normally has two flights every day from Medan-base Polonia airport.
Exxon-Mobil Indonesia operates one of the country's largest gasfields in Arun.
Meanwhile, spokesman of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) Ismail Syahputra said GAM was not involved in the attack. "How can our members go there because all vital projects in Aceh are tightly guarded by the military men," he said.
He acknowledged that GAM used to send a letter to the American firm not to allow the establishment of a military post at the company's complex for fear of bigger damages whenever there was an armed contact between the security officers and the GAM members. (*)