Acehnese protest foreign aid

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.