Foreign aid workers ‘advised’ to leave Aceh

INDONESIA has told foreign aid workers to leave troubled Aceh for security reasons and says Jakarta wants to take over all humanitarian assistance in the province.

The warning comes as Indonesia’s military announced plans to step up operations against separatist rebels which began eight days ago and have caused dozens of deaths, forced thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupted food distribution.

United Nations aid workers say they have not felt their security threatened by the offensive, but expected to abide by the order. “It didn’t directly say a ban, but we have been firmly advised that it would be better for us to cease our functions in Aceh for security purposes,” said Michael Elmquist, head of the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

He was referring to a letter OCHA received from Indonesia’s chief social welfare minister, Yusuf Kalla. “Our staffers do not feel their safety is in jeopardy but it’s the kind of situation where we need to base ourselves on what the government’s advice is,” Elmquist said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa earlier said that local government and the Indonesian Red Cross would in future be responsible for distributing all humanitarian assistance in Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost province. He said foreign aid workers “should be aware of this policy and leave Aceh. Their physical presence and direct contact in Aceh are not needed due to security concerns.”

The UN said the five international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and four UN agencies operating in Aceh had not been banned from the province, but were given little choice but to leave.

But in Aceh’s provincial capital, Banda Aceh, one aid worker said staff had no plans to leave yet. “Everybody is still here. It’s just a matter of wait-and-see on what these statements from Jakarta mean.”

Another aid worker, however, said security was a genuine concern and that staff had stopped operating in the field.

Some human rights group officials say they are suspicious of Jakarta’s motives, fearing abuses may take place if foreign aid workers are barred from the province. “This is not about the safety of NGO workers. Without the international NGOs, the military will have more space to attack the people,” said Munir, of the Indonesian rights NGO Kontras.

Indonesia has military and police forces of more than 40,000 facing 5,000 guerrilla-style fighters of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and plans to step up its latest offensive against the rebels with more vehicle searches, document checks and patrols.