Government to take over relief operation in three months

Government to take over relief operation in three months

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government plans to take over the relief operation in Aceh
from foreign aid workers within the next three months, despite
lingering concerns of bottlenecks in aid distribution and the
threat of diseases spreading among displaced people.

"We are going to intensify the use of domestic resources to
gradually take over the humanitarian operation ... By March 26,
we expect to have control over the situation," State Secretary
Sudi Silalahi said after a limited Cabinet meeting on the matter
led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

He underlined that the Indonesian government was grateful to
the international community for its sympathy and support, but the
government had to begin to take charge of the relief operation.

To support the plan, the Indonesian Military (TNI) will send
three more battalions and 1,000 military cadets to the province,
while the police will send one mobile brigade battalion.

"We will set a clear time frame and objective to increase our
role in the relief operation," Sudi said.

Foreign governments and individuals have pledged more than
US$7 billion in aid to help coastal areas around the Indian Ocean
recover from the devastating impact of the Dec. 26 tsunami, which
killed over 150,000 people in Asia. Thousands of foreign aid
workers and military troops have rushed into Aceh, which bore the
brunt of the tsunami, to help thousands of survivors and
distribute aid to remote areas as the government's capacity has
been limited. It has been called the largest humanitarian relief
operation since World War II.

Defense minister Juwono Sudarsono said that it was time for
Indonesia to take responsibility for running relief and
rehabilitation efforts in Aceh.

"It is most important that we utilize our domestic potential,"
he said.

The government was initially criticized for its poor
performance in coordinating relief efforts in Aceh. Its plan to
take over the relief operation comes despite lingering
difficulties in reaching isolated areas in Aceh and threats to
survivors' health. The World Health Organization confirmed on
Tuesday two separate cases of measles in Banda Aceh.

In the meeting, the President instructed that all resources
should be focused on the evacuation and burial of the thousands
of remaining bodies of tsunami victims, and expected that
search-and-rescue efforts would be completed within the next
week.

The government also announced on Tuesday it would reopen an
airstrip on a small island near the northern tip of Sumatra to
ease pressure at the main airport in Banda Aceh, which is now
handling some 150 flights a day.

Sudi said the meeting also discussed damage assessment, which
would be carried out across the province in the near future.

Some government officials previously estimated that the cost
of Aceh's rehabilitation and reconstruction would reach around Rp
20 trillion (US$2.17 billion) for a five-year program.

The government expects foreign donors to provide a debt
moratorium, which would allow it to use funds initially committed
to debt repayment for financing the reconstruction of Aceh.