Deadline for aid agencies in Aceh extended

Fri, 18 Mar 2005, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

Tony Hotland and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government extended on Thursday the transition period to the
reconstruction phase in Aceh, giving up to 60 more days for all
foreign humanitarian aid agencies to continue their relief work
there.

The extension is expected to help the government consolidate
the activities of the different humanitarian organizations and
improve coordination, a press statement issued by the Office of
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare said.

The government is in need of a higher level of coordination
for the reconstruction in Aceh in order to prevent an overlap of
activities and ensure that funding is used appropriately.

"Managing such a large number of organizations in different
sectors presents a great challenge," the statement said.

The welfare minister, Alwi Shihab, who heads the relief
effort, previously set a deadline for "non-relevant" foreign aid
groups to leave the province by March 26 as the government would
begin to focus on reconstruction work.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post, Alwi said that foreign troops in
Aceh could also stay in the province beyond March 26 as long as
their visas were still valid, or "if there is a special request
from the Indonesian government for the foreign troops to extend
their humanitarian mission in the area."

"There are just a handful of countries with military personnel
still carrying out humanitarian relief in Aceh. And they won't be
asked to leave Aceh unless their visas have expired," Alwi said.

The government earlier planned to set certain criteria for
foreign organizations in order that they could stay, especially
those with useful skills.

To do this, the government is reviewing the plans of the
organizations in order to determine how they can best meet the
reconstruction needs to be laid out in the government's long-
awaited Master Plan.

"The government believes that more time needs to be allowed
for further consultation with donor countries, agencies and
humanitarian organizations," the statement said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will now work to arrange a
mechanism for visa applications and renewals for the foreigners,
with details to be announced after March 26.

There are an estimated 160 aid groups in Aceh, ranging from
large United Nations agencies like UNICEF to small faith-based
groups from around the world.