Aid workers wade through minefield of nationalism

John Mcbeth, The Straits Times/Asia News Network, Singapore

Nationalism, often tinged with conspiracy theories and a measure of xenophobia, is never far from the surface in Indonesia. Just witness some of the hostile questions U.S. Ambassador Lyn Pascoe had to field recently from several Indonesian journalists apparently convinced that the American involvement in the international relief operation in tsunami- ravaged Aceh province was driven more by non-humanitarian motives than anything else.

That same nationalism -- and the need to demonstrate that Indonesia is in charge -- also appears to have been the reason for the government's decision to impose a three-month deadline on thousands of foreign troops.

On the surface, it gave the impression the authorities were ungrateful for their assistance, but Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono has just "clarified" that "March 26 is not a deadline...It is a benchmark for the Indonesian government to improve and accelerate its relief efforts, so that by March 26, a large part of the burden will be carried by the Indonesian government".

Aid workers said it may take at least a year to re-open the once-picturesque 220km road between Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, and the shattered coastal town of Meulaboh. Until that happens, heavy-lift helicopters such as Singapore's CH-47 Chinooks -- which Indonesia does not have -- could continue to play a crucial role in feeding more than 130,000 refugees strung out along the west coast.

Presidential aides said the relocation of the refugees to places where they will be accessible by road and by ship will be important in slowly scaling back the need for foreign military involvement. But after initially saying he wanted all foreign forces out by March 26 or "the sooner the better", Vice President Jusuf Kalla later informed Western diplomats that the deadline was in fact flexible.

Top United Nations relief official Jan Egeland had expressed serious concern over the deadline and also possible restrictions on the movement of relief workers, ostensibly to protect them against Free Aceh Movement separatists.

But the most interesting reaction came from the Indonesian Armed Forces, which has often been cast as the institution most uncomfortable about the presence of foreign military forces. "We need the foreign troops badly," military commander, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, said in an interview in yesterday's edition of Tempo news weekly. "Australian soldiers, for example, sent a water purifier, along with plastic containers. We can't even afford the containers, let alone the purifier, so should we let our people die because of national pride?"

Gen. Sutarto, nearing the end of four years at the helm, indicated his main worry will continue to be getting food and water to the pockets of refugees who survived the tidal waves that carried away entire towns and left the western coast a wasteland. He said: 'I'd rather be fired than ban foreign troops from coming in to do their humanitarian mission. Are we expected to deliver aid from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh by bicycle?"

Foreign helicopter carriers -- from the U.S., Singapore, India, Australia and France -- are assisting in relief efforts.

Although the Jakarta government has talked of sending thousands of troop reinforcements to Aceh to help in the clean up -- and perhaps give the appearance of reinforcing national sovereignty -- Gen. Sutarto startled observers on Jan.12 by saying that he could not deploy even three battalions because of cost considerations and worries that it would disturb security in other parts of the country.

His suggestion that the work would best be done by the Acehnese themselves appears to have been picked up by the UN Development Program, which days later began paying 3,000 tsunami survivors US$3 (S$4.90) a day to clear away wreckage.

Singaporean, Australian and American officers all said cooperation from the Indonesian army has been exceptional. "As an issue, the deadline has been way overstated," said a senior Australian officer, who tells of receiving a text message from an Indonesian general thanking him for his help.

"The work of the military will probably be over in three months anyway, and it will be up to the United Nations to bring in what is needed. None of this is confrontational to us. We'll go when they want us to go."

It was not so long ago, in the wake of the bloody 1999 independence referendum in then East Timor, that Australian and Indonesian troops came close to open hostilities that would have set relations back decades. Five years on, much of that has been forgotten. The Australian officer said the key to the success of the aid and recovery operation so far was probably getting the Indonesian military to take control, something that has become more apparent than ever in recent days.

Still, nationalism remains an issue, particularly with the Muslim-orientated Justice and Welfare Party -- part of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling coalition -- and other Islamic groups critical of the U.S. role in the Middle East.

International and Indonesian officials are reluctant to point a finger over why ship-borne U.S. marines were forced to scale back their presence on shore to address Indonesian sensitivities and security concerns.

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln that serves as a key base for relief operations had to leave Indonesian territorial waters, reportedly because Jakarta objected to routine training flights by American jet fighters that must go on as part of keeping the flat-top battle ready.

Indonesian government sources insisted it was an American decision to conform with maritime law. Whatever the truth, the repositioning of the carrier added half an hour to helicopter supply flights.

The writer is the former Jakarta correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review.