Emergency status would starve Aceh refugees

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Thousands of refugees in Aceh will completely lose access to aid and food supplies due to blocked lines of transportation if, as expected, a civilian emergency is imposed in this restive province.

The refugees, including women and babies, are currently living in abhorrent conditions and facing water shortages in camps across the strife-torn area.

"Today, it is extremely difficult to channel aid to these refugees because of the tight security cordon in and around the refugee camps. They forbid people to enter the camps with goods in hand or in packages. We can still manage to send refugees aid by traveling by sea or by taking shortcuts via the surrounding forests," said Hermanto, a spokesman for the People's Crisis Center of Aceh (PCC-Aceh).

PCC-Aceh is a non-governmental organization which monitors and updates records on the number and conditions of refugees across 17 primary camps in the country's westernmost province.

"But I cannot imagine, how can we send them aid during a civilian emergency when deployment of security forces in and around these camps will be sharply increased, as well as in the forests? Transportation lines will most likely be totally blocked, due to increased security and curfews."

The central government is due to decide on Aceh's fate on Aug. 5.

"The government could call it a civilian emergency once it is imposed, but the Acehnese will always see it as a military emergency, due to the military domination in Aceh," Hermanto said.

During a decade-long military operation (DOM), in a desperate attempt to rid the province of separatist rebels in Aceh, which ended in 1998, 1,025 were killed according to government data, however rights groups put figure perhaps 10 times higher.

Refugees in Aceh, including transmigrant Javanese, fled their homes due to continuous clashes between separatist rebels and security forces, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 600 people this year alone.

Aside from the fact that most of their homes have been burned down, refugees in these camps suffer from malnutrition, and diseases ranging from diarrhea, breathing problems and severe skin diseases, Hermanto said.

Hermanto said that to date, PCC-Aceh workers had to travel by sea and walk through remote forest trails carrying food and medical supplies on motorcycles, for the refugees in camps in East Aceh, North Aceh, Central Aceh, West Aceh and Pidie.

"Officials refuse our entry to the camps over any suspicions that we are supporting rebel-affiliated refugees (ethnic Acehnese). Refugees are perceived as friends or even shields for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels, who allegedly use refugee camps as a platform to gain support from either the Acehnese public or media, both local and international," Hermanto claimed.

In 1999, when the number of refugees had skyrocketed due to the rising tensions, leaders of GAM had reportedly used these camps as a base to conduct interviews with both the international and local media, or even to make contact with certain refugees.

Around two years ago, Hermanto recalled, refugees living in the Idi Rayeuk district of East Aceh had to abandon the area due to a GAM occupation for over 14 hours. The refugees ended up living, sleeping and eating in boats, floating in the middle of the Simpang Ulim river.

Another PCC-Aceh activist, Misdawan R.H., said security forces guarding the camps, mainly in East Aceh and North Aceh, and the Aceh provincial administration had refused to distribute or give aid to the refugees, unless they agreed to return to their homes. The refugees do not comply with the request because aside from their fragile health condition, their homes had been burned down, Misdawan added.

PCC-Aceh has noted that refugees hit hard by a water shortage and inadequate sanitary facilities are located in the Lhok Nibong camp in the Pante Bidari district, Geulumpang Payong camp in Sungai Raya district, Kuala Malihan camp in the Simpang Ulim district, the Kuala Idi camp in the Idi Rayeuk district, Gajah Meunta camp and Alue Rangan camp in Sungai Raya district, all in East Aceh.