Govt to screen foreign NGOs
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A government decision to restrict the presence of international aid agencies in Aceh would force them to abandon their unfinished work in the province just as it started to return to some semblance of normalcy nearly four months after December's devastating tsunami.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab told journalists here on Monday that the government would re-register overseas non-governmental organizations before conducting a screening process to decide which of them would be allowed to stay in Aceh or would have to leave the province starting March 26.
Only relief organizations linked to the United Nations and donor countries would be allowed to continue their humanitarian work in the ravaged province on Sumatra island, he said.
"The rest, which are not affiliated (with the UN or the donor countries), will be questioned about their (future) contributions to Aceh. We need to be familiar with all the NGOs, their contributions and funding, and how long they plan to stay to complete their humanitarian projects in Aceh," Alwi said.
The chief welfare minister reiterated that the selection of foreign aid organizations to be allowed to stay would be discussed with the United Nations and donor countries for verification.
He said the government would not be automatically influenced by the amount of money that particular foreign NGOs may have brought into Aceh in making the selection.
"For example, if there is an NGO that is bringing in US$20 million, we will ask it about what it plans to do for the reconstruction work in Aceh," Alwi said.
Should the government consider a foreign NGO to be eligible to stay and take part in the reconstruction program, but it is only capable of providing a small amount of money and is not affiliated to either the UN or any donor country, he suggested that it merge its operations with NGOs linked to the UN or donor countries.
"If the amount of funding is too small and the NGO is not registered with the UN or a donor country, we'll ask it to merge with the bigger ones," Alwi said.
Alwi denied the move was aimed at restricting the presence of foreigners in Aceh, which is the scene of a separatist insurgency and has been ruled under an emergency administration since 2003.
He said it was merely an attempt to ensure that the requirements for the reconstruction work, which will officially start on March 26, 2005, were fulfilled.
"All the foreign NGOs will be allowed to stay except for those that are not qualified to participate in the reconstruction program," he said.
Before the tsunami devastated Aceh on Dec. 26, 2004, it was subject to a state of civil emergency. Foreigners, including journalists, were barred from entering the province as the military went all out to crush the Free Aceh Movement, which has been fighting for independence since 1976.
The calamity, which left more than 230,000 people killed or missing and feared dead, forced the government to ease the restrictions as it was unable to tackle the disaster alone.
The government reopened the door to foreigners, including military personnel and journalists, to help the tsunami survivors.
However, the National Police's Aceh Task Force announced on March 3 that many foreign aid agencies -- including those linked to the UN-- would have to leave the province by March 26.
But Vice President Jusuf Kalla last week said the March 26 deadline applied only to foreign troops, not relief organizations.
"Foreign aid agencies are free to stay there. There is no deadline," he told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive interview.
Alwi's latest comments on Monday appeared to contradict Kalla's statement.
Some 380 foreign non-governmental organizations have been registered to assist tsunami victims but 200 of them have already left Aceh after finishing their emergency relief work.