Acehnese protest foreign aid
Nani Farida The Jakarta Post Banda Aceh
A coalition of non-governmental organizations demanded on Wednesday that the government reject foreign aid offered for reconstruction programs in the war-torn province, fearing its misuse by corrupt officials and an increase in the country's massive debt burden.
The protesters, from the group A Peaceful Aceh Without Debt, staged a demonstration lasting about an hour in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.
They displayed banners that read: "Aceh is Rich, Why Ask for Debt?" and "Reject Foreign Debt".
"Aceh administration cannot even manage its provincial budget, let alone that much money," said Kamal Farza, coordinator of People's Solidarity Against Corruption (SAMAK).
Indonesia's creditor countries, including the U.S., the European Union and Japan, agreed in Tokyo early in December last year to assist the reconstruction of Aceh should peace return to the province.
A peace agreement was signed by Jakarta and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Dec. 9, paving the way for creditors to start disbursing aid.
No amount was pledged. But last week, the World Bank said it would provide nearly US$10 million this year in support of the peace agreement.
According to Kamal, the government and foreign creditors planned to inject into the province around Rp 24 trillion (about $2.69 billion) in development funds.
But he doubted that the money would benefit the people here.
"New debt will only become a breeding ground for corruption," he said, while also questioning officials' ability to manage public funds.
"NAD's government has neither the capacity, credibility nor accountability," he said, referring to the province by its official name, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD).
He accused the government of "selling" Aceh to creditor countries to tap more loans at the meeting of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) in Bali.
"The improved security condition will be a reason for the government to take on more debt," he said.
The CGI represents Indonesia's main creditor countries and on Wednesday it agreed to extend $2.7 billion in loans. The amount is lower than the $3.14 billion during the previous CGI meeting in Nov. 2001.
Indonesia's total foreign debt currently amounts to about $70 billion.
Demonstrators said that if the international community genuinely wanted to help Aceh, it should allow Indonesia to use this year's foreign debt interest payment of Rp 80.87 trillion is trillion correct? please check to rebuild the province instead.
"It's better than taking on new debts," Kamal said.