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Indonesia wants foreign troops out
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-12 17:19
Indonesia told foreign troops helping tsunami victims to get out of the
country "the sooner the better" and defended tough new restrictions on aid
workers, while rich nations prepared to freeze Jakarta's debt repayments.
Vice President Yusuf Kalla said foreign troops should leave tsunami-hit Aceh
province on Sumatra island as soon as they finish their relief mission, staying
no longer than three months, state media reported.
"Three months are enough. In fact, the sooner the better," Kalla was quoted
by the state Antara news agency as saying.
An Indonesian
primary school girl sketches a map of Sumatra while explaining about the
powerful earthquake that has hit the region, in Banda Aceh. Indonesia told
foreign troops helping tsunami victims to get out of the country 'the
sooner the better' and defended tough new restrictions on aid workers,
while rich nations prepared to freeze Jakarta's debt repayments.
[AFP] | The armed forces of Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United
States have all rushed task forces to Aceh in the wake of the December 26
disaster which killed at least 106,000 Indonesians out of a total of more than
158,000 deaths in Asia.
United Nations officials struggling to coordinate a massive relief
operation have welcomed their participation, particularly to deliver aid to
isolated coastlines accessible only by sea or air.
But their presence in Indonesian territory has been a sensitive issue for the
world's largest Muslim-populated nation which has traditionally kept foreign
military, particularly the United States and Australia, at arm's length.
The vice president said Aceh in the near future would need foreign medical
workers and engineers instead of military assistance.
"Foreign troops are no longer needed," he said.
Kalla's comments came after the country's military imposed sweeping new
restrictions on foreign relief workers operating in Aceh, claiming they were in
danger from rebels waging a long-running separatist war.
Analysts have said they believe the move was an attempt to reassert the
military's control over the province, an accusation the government has denied.
Senior officials said foreign journalists would also be confined to major
towns in the province, closing a post-disaster window of press freedom in the
region which was locked down almost two years ago during a military offensive.
Indonesian troops have already begun accompanying United Nations missions to
help victims of the tsunami and liaison officers are to be posted on the scores
of foreign navy ships and military and civilian aircraft bringing thousands of
tonnes of emergency supplies into the stricken area.
Despite statements from Free Aceh Movement rebels, known as GAM, pledging the
safety of volunteers, Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab said the government was
concerned that attacks on aid staff could scare off foreign assistance.
Indonesia's director of disaster relief in Aceh, Budi Atmadi, said the new
regulations were also aimed at improving coordination for the huge aid
operation, which has been hampered by lack of clear organisation.
"The purpose of this is not to restrict access, but to coordinate activities
of all organisations to avoid overlap and assist in planning future operations."
More than 50 aid organisations have been working with foreign military task
forces to bring relief to many areas isolated by destroyed roads and rugged
mountains.
The United Nations says that while it does not believe its workers are under
threat, the new regulations will not hinder its efforts.
Meanwhile, government creditors in the Paris Club of wealthy nations were set
to agree at a meeting in the French capital Wednesday on freezing debt
repayments by Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the country hit second hardest by the
tsunamis.
Indonesia's foreign debt comes to around 132 billion dollars (100 billion
euros), and the country is looking at three billion dollars in payments this
year to service that debt.
On Tuesday, the United Nations secured 717 million dollars in record time for
tsunami victims in Asia -- 73 percent of a 977-million-dollar appeal launched
last week to meet immediate needs in the next six months
UN humanitarian relief coordinator Jan Egeland said after a donor's
conference in Geneva it was the first time the world body had collected so much
money in such a short space of time after a disaster.
"This has never ever happened before, that we, two weeks after a disaster,
have 717 million dollars that we can spend on an emergency relief effort,"
Egeland told reporters.
Egeland said he was confident that the appeal for six months would soon be
met in full. Of the 717 million dollars, 250 million alone is from Japan.
Some nine billion dollars has been pledged worldwide in short and long term
aid after the disaster.
The figure, obtained by an AFP count, includes government money, donations
pledged in an unprecedented outpouring of global public sympathy -- "humanity at
its best," Egeland said -- as well as debt relief and loans.
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