BRR insistent about TNI help

BRR insistent about TNI help

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Despite mounting criticism, the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and
Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) is pressing ahead with its plan to
request the Indonesian Military (TNI) to deploy troops to help
the body rebuild Aceh.

The troop deployment is crucial to speed up reconstruction
projects in the tsunami-ravaged province, said BRR spokesman
Sudirman Said here on Sunday.

"We accept the criticism but we will go ahead with the plan as
it is crucial to speed up recovery efforts in Aceh," he said.

"We will explain the situation to those who have criticized
the plan and we believe that they will accept our reasons," he
added.

Critics have accused BRR of not promoting policies that
support long-lasting peace in Aceh by asking for troops to return
to the province after weapons decommissioning by former rebels
and a major military pullout has just been completed.

Sudirman said the plan was still in the initial stages. The
body has not discussed with the military how many troops would be
deployed to Aceh and whether they would be sent from outside the
province.

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Thursday he would
respond positively to a request by BRR chief Kuntoro
Mangkusubroto to help the agency rebuild Aceh by deploying some
15,000 soldiers to the province.

Sudirman said the reconstruction has been progressing very
slowly as civilian contractors lacked the ability to penetrate
isolated areas hit by the tsunami.

The problem is compounded by the vastness of the area
decimated by the tsunami last year. According to data from the
agency, the tsunami wreaked havoc on nearly 800 kilometers of
coastline in Aceh, damaging nearly all the infrastructure in its
wake.

The tsunami left 3,000 kilometers of roads impassable, 14 of
19 seaports badly damaged, eight of 10 airports damaged and 170
bridges destroyed. "As civilians have failed to accomplish the
work, we are expecting help from the military," said Sudirman.

But, he said the body understood that the issue was sensitive,
adding that if the plan were to materialize, the agency would
prefer to use soldiers from the Iskandar Muda Military Command in
Aceh rather than pulling in troops from outside the province.

The agency would thus avoid complications following the
Helsinki peace deal forged by the Indonesian government and the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The Aug. 15 peace deal states that all
non-local troops must be withdrawn from the province.

Separately, respected Acehnese figure Achmad Humam Hamid
warned the body on Sunday to think twice before pushing ahead
with the plan.

"The government and BRR should be aware that Aceh is prone to
conflict and moreover that both the government and GAM are
building trust after the Helsinki peace deal. The plan could
spark a backlash from GAM and then shatter the peace deal," said
Hamid, an academic and longtime human rights campaigner who leads
the Aceh Recovery Forum that has been at the forefront in working
for the rights of tsunami survivors.