ACEH PEOPLE UNPERTURBED BY POLICE'S ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS

Banda Aceh, March 10 (ANTARA) - People in Aceh province are going about their daily activities normally despite the recent anti-terrorist operations carried out by the National Police in the region, an official said.

"So far, local people are doing their daily activities normally. They are not affected by the recent raids on terrorist hideouts," Aceh Vice Governor Muhammad Nazar said here on Wednesday.

Nazar said normal conditions also prevailed in areas where the anti-terror raids took place such as in Aceh Besar and Pidie districts.

In fact, he added, there was an increase in inbound and outbound airline flights. Local authorities, he said, had also approved a proposal to increase the frequency of airline flights to serve air transportation needs in the area.

Nazar said the group of armed men recently caught by the police only use some of Aceh's forestry area as their temporary base for training.

"According to the information I have received, the terrorists only used a forest in Aceh as a temporary training base," he said.

The raids conducted recently by the police in several areas in Aceh such as Aceh Besar and Pidie resulted in the arrest or immobilization of tens of people suspected of terrorist activity. Most of the the arrested men came from outside Aceh province.

"Aceh people will not give them space to conduct their activity here. This can be proven by the recent raids which were conducted on the basis of tipoffs from local people," he added. (A051/B/HAJM/B/S012)