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 The Aug. 15 peace deal states that all non-local troops must be withdrawn from the province.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.