Aid workers get shot at, none hurt

Ruslan Sangadji and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Medan

An unidentified group of people has fired shots at some 25 tsunami relief workers in Aceh, sparking security concerns among some volunteers and creating a further hindrance to aid distribution in the province, it was reported on Thursday.

However, none of the volunteers -- from Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization -- were injured in the incident.

Muhammadiyah relief task force spokesman, Reza Alwan, said the attack took place on Wednesday afternoon in Krueng Raya village near the Malahayati port, Banda Aceh, when the aid workers were distributing aid at a refugee camp there.

"It's true that we were shot at when we were preparing to return from distributing food aid and giving health services to refugees," he told The Jakarta Post.

Reza could not identify the attackers who he said fired shots from an elevated area.

The civilian aid workers, comprising doctors and paramedics as well as other staffers, were not hurt in the attack, he added.

Reza said a shootout was fortunately avoided as several police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers escorting the volunteers refrained from returning fire.

He said the attackers may not have been targeting the volunteers, but rather the Brimob personnel. "I believe the shots were not directed at us because our presence there was for humanitarian work."

Brimob confirmed the attack and accused separatist rebels of being behind it.

Similarly, other aid workers raised concerns that security worries were hampering their efforts to assist victims of the Dec. 26 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that crushed Aceh and North Sumatra.

Volunteers from the Public Administration Institute (IPDN) reported they had been briefly stopped by unidentified people on their way to West Aceh, Bireuen and Pidie for relief operations.

Despite the security disturbances, the volunteers managed to accomplish their task of collecting data on civil servants in the tsunami stricken towns, IPDN aid task force spokesman Juhanas Waluyo said.

"Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), although some of our friends have not yet returned to Banda Aceh, we have received reports on their work via facsimile," he added.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has warned that Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels were trying to disrupt aid supplies for tsunami victims.

The military has thus banned foreigners working on humanitarian missions in Aceh from moving outside Banda Aceh unless they have clearance and escorts from soldiers.

Only the areas around the provincial capital and the stricken coastal town of Meulaboh were safe for civilian foreign aid workers, the military added.

However, GAM leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to a cease-fire they declared on the day of the disaster.

In Medan, North Sumatra, United States marine commander Brig. Gen. Christian B. Cowdrey said on Thursday that all American aid workers felt safe in Aceh because they received TNI protection.

GAM rebels have so far not disrupted relief operations by foreign agencies, he added.

Cowdrey and Paul S. Berg, a U.S. officer in Medan, hailed the Indonesian government's policy of restricting movements of foreign aid workers in Aceh, saying the move was aimed at protecting them in a known conflict area.

A positive response also came from Joel Boutroue, the United Nations coordinator for relief operations in Aceh.

"For me, I don't see any restrictions at this stage. Here, the government just wants to have control on the movement of foreigners on its territory ... We have to work within these parameters," he said.

Asked whether the policy had affected UN aid supplies, Boutroue said, "No, not at this stage. What is affecting our distribution of aid is not this policy but rather logistics".

He also said the UN could understand Indonesia's appeal for foreign aid agencies to finish their jobs in Aceh by late March.

"I think the three-month deadline is an internal deadline for the government to be able to have a full control of the operation and look to the future, and we welcome that very much," Boutroue said.

He said he believes the Indonesian government would be able to take over all humanitarian operations in three months.

"One of the biggest problems faced by the government in Aceh is that most of the administration is wiped out. And the government is working hard on that, and I think, the administration will be functioning at all levels within the next three months," he said.