Acehnese refugees allege aid embezzlement

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Langkat, North Sumatra

A number of Acehnese refugees have alleged that food and financial relief earmarked for Acehnese people taking refuge in numerous camps in Langkat regency has been misappropriated, saying many refugees have received only part of the assistance distributed by the government.

Suryadi Awal, coordinator of Acehnese Refugees in North Sumatra (ARSINS), said that the majority of 16,527 refugees registered in the regencies had not received food and financial aid in accordance with the allocation set by the central government.

"Many refugees have only received rice and its portion does not match the allocation determined by the government, while many others have only received allocations supposed to last several months during their stay in the refugee camps," he told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.

According to the government's ruling, every refugee should receive Rp 1,500 (US$0.15) and 400 grams of rice per day, while the local social affairs ministry office has made one-off distributions of financial and food assistance for 120-day (four- month) periods.

Suryadi, who has been staying at a camp in the regency with his relatives, said he has never received the aid in accordance with the amount determined by the government.

"According to our data, 95 percent of refugees have not received the cash and rice aid in accordance with its correct quantity and we suspect that a majority of the aid has been embezzled by those who have been assigned to distribute it," he said, citing reports of the leakage of cash and rice aid for refugees to the North Sumatra provincial legislative council.

Should the local social affairs ministry office stick to the government's ruling, a refugee should receive Rp 168,000 and 32.8 kilograms of rice for 120 days, he added.

Salim Udin who has been in a refugee camp in Air Hitam, Gebang subdistrict, for one-and-a-half years, said that he and his four- member family have only received Rp 168,000 and 19.1 kg of rice in the whole time they had been there.

"No more than that," he said insistently.

Rosmala, who left Banda Sakti, North Aceh, with her four children after her husband was killed by Aceh separatist rebels in September 2000, said she had only received allocations of rice from the local social affairs ministry office totaling 32 kg.

"We appeal to the local government not to steal the aid for refugees because we are facing uncertainty and have lost everything we owned," she said.

Yusuf Sangali, another refugee, said the refugees were sure the cash and rice aid allocated to them had been reduced by the central government, but unscrupulous officers assigned to distribute it had put aside part of the aid for themselves.

Bachtiar Sonar, deputy chairman of the provincial legislative council, said the legislature would summon the local social affairs ministry office regarding the alleged leakage of aid for refugees.

"The local administration should demonstrate accountability in handling the refugees," he said.

Rizal Sirait, secretary of the legislature's Commission V on social affairs, said his commission would also ask the local police to investigate any possible embezzlement.

"Local officers suspected of embezzling the aid for refugees must be arrested and put in jail," he said, adding it would be shameful if it was true that the aid for refugees was being embezzled.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Amrin Karim, spokesman for the North Sumatra Police, said police would certainly carry out an investigation after receiving an official report from the local administration and the legislature.

"If evidence shows that they are guilty, those who have corrupted the aid for refugees will be taken to court," he said.

Sofyan Nasution, chief of the local social affairs ministry office, conceded that some refugees had not received any aid from the government because they had not yet been registered.

"However, it is embezzlement if there are refugees only receiving rice, and those are involved in such crimes will be given stiff penalties," he said.

He said the central government had not disbursed aid for the refugees for the June-October period.