The disaster, which occurred on December 26, 2004, also hit eight Asian countries and seven African countries, has been estimated of claiming more than 155.000 death and tens of thousands more still missing. According to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, it has been estimated that at least 94.000 people ! were killed in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.
AJI, an organization of journalists in Indonesia affiliated to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has members in the affected areas, namely twelve (12) in Lhokseumawe and 25 in Banda Aceh and a security officer of the AJI office in Banda Aceh, excluding AJI members in Jakarta who have relatives in Aceh.
Currently, we are monitoring their existence and their families. From the latest report we received, all of AJI members in Lhokseumawe have been found safe.
In Banda Aceh, has already 15 people have been found alive, and three person are dead namely Muharram M. Nur (Kontras), Ridwan Ishak (Serambi Indonesia) and Erisnawaty (Serambi Indonesia). Meanwhile eight person went missing. An the list of missing person is the following:
1. Herianto (Journalist of Serambi Indonesia)
2. Mahdi Abdullah ( Journalist of Kontras)
3. Muhammad Din (Journalists of Kontras)
4. Muhammad Rizal (Journalist of Serambi Indonesia)
5. Nurnihayati
6. Said Kamaruzzaman Sayed (Journalist Kontras)
7. Taufan Nugraha (Journalist of KBR 68H)
8. Munar (security officer AJI Banda Aceh)
Until now, we are still trying to get the information of our colleagues.
Therefore, we call on the community to participate and provide assistance for our colleagues who become the victims. Financial assistance can be sent to:
Account Number : 446-1479
Beneficiary Name : ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS
Name of Bank : BNI Senayan Branch
SWIFT Code : BNINIDJA
Address of Bank : Jl. Gatot Subroto Kav. 55
Central Jakarta 10210
Other assistance can be sent to:
Secretariat of AJI Indonesia
Jl. Danau Poso Blok D1 No. 29 Bendungan Hilir Jakarta Indonesia 10210
Phone: +62-21-5790-0489, Fax. +62-21-573-4581
Jakarta, December 30, 2004
The Alliance of Independent Journalists
Eddy Suprapto
President
For further information, you can contact us at:
1. The Jakarta Coordinating Post
Eddy Suprapto (62-818-774-724)
Ulin Niam Yusron (62-818-912-361)
Abdul Manan (62-818-948-316)
Lensi Mursida (62-815-943-5493)
Yulia Siswaningsih (62-815-1322-0269 or 62-815-1127-9559)
