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NEWS & LETTERS, January-February 2005Indonesia interferes with Acheh tsunami aidby Acheh Center, USA Acheh, Sumatra, lies 19 miles from the epicenter of the devastating earthquake of Dec. 26. Already ravaged by years of Indonesian military repression and exploitation, the province was hit by the largest tsunami waves, described as two coconut trees tall (50 feet). With a speed of 500 miles per hour, the tsunami destroyed 80% of the coastal area in the capital, Banda Acheh, and wiped countless coastal villages off the map. As of Jan. 20, there are an estimated 166,320 people dead, 750,000 homeless, and 50,000 orphaned children. The numbers increase daily, with thousands still missing and an unknown number of survivors dying from injuries and diseases such as cholera and malaria. So many died because many of Acheh’s four million people live on the coast, fishing or farming. Major cities--trading centers--are also on the coast. The force of the tsunami was made worse as a result of Indonesia’s degradation of Acheh’s ecosystem. And people had not been taught what to do; when they saw the sea first go out, they ran towards it to collect fish. FAILED TO GIVE AID Indonesia undoubtedly hopes to use this catastrophe to end Acheh’s longstanding independence struggle. Acheh was under a "civil emergency" (martial law) for the past year and a half, and until several days after the disaster struck, almost no journalists or humanitarian workers had been allowed in. The province is occupied by 70,000 armed forces who not only fight the small guerrilla organization (GAM), but also violently repress the formerly massive civil society movements which seek a referendum on Acheh’s status. Now traumatized people are being forced to rely on the same soldiers who traumatized them before the tsunami. For the first three days following the earthquake and tsunami, the Indonesian government failed to deliver or permit any aid into Acheh. Since foreign militaries and humanitarian NGOs have been allowed in, the Indonesian military has interfered with aid importation and distribution. It is intercepting and storing much of the aid at unused military bases and airports. It interposes itself between the aid and the survivors, restricting aid workers’ travel, requiring licenses, etc. Soldiers demand, from people who lost everything, both money for food and other aid, and their identity papers--the latter so that the military can continue to search for GAM members and peaceful activists, both of whom it shoots on sight. NO GOVERNMENT CEASE-FIRE Although GAM declared a cease-fire immediately after the disaster, Indonesia refuses to do so. The military recently killed several guerrillas, including some engaged in humanitarian work, and several civilians, including a six-year old child. It immediately built military posts alongside the refugee camps so soldiers can monitor who goes in and out. The refugees are forbidden to speak directly to journalists and foreign NGOs, making it difficult for journalists to get a real sense of what is going on and complicating the job of humanitarian workers, since the refugees are afraid to ask soldiers for the help they need. Moreover, Indonesia has flown in members of Islamist militant organizations to stir up trouble and harass the international relief workers. Some wear Osama bin Laden T-shirts and falsely claim to be Achenese. They tell the Achenese that the relief workers are really there to convert them to Christianity. GAM and civil society organizations denounce these tactics, but are so accustomed to the military’s propaganda that they expect it will blame GAM for its own interference with aid delivery. Indonesia’s announcement that all foreign troops must leave Acheh by March 26 (later modified) illustrates its cynical mis-use of the concept of nationalism. Without long-term assistance, Acheh will not be able to rebuild its infrastructure and create jobs. The real reason for the policy is to return Acheh to isolation so that the military can continue its crimes against the Achenese without the world watching. * * * PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS THAT WILL DELIVER AID QUICKLY AND PROPERLY! Acheh Center is an association of Achenese refugees who live in the U.S. Most of us were activists in the civil society movements for self-determination that flowered after the end of the dictatorship in Indonesia in 1998, and then were severely repressed. Most of us were forced to flee Acheh for our lives. We are working to provide direct, immediate aid and financial support to the victims of the disaster, by sending contributions to grass-roots organizations that are able to get relief aid into Acheh quickly, without needing the cooperation of the Indonesian government or military. Please send checks made out to Acheh Center to: Acheh Center, USA |
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