Int'l Red Cross visits S. Sulawesi

Int'l Red Cross visits S. Sulawesi

JAKARTA: International Red Cross representatives Kirsten Duus
of Denmark and Iris Trapman of Australia arrived in Makassar,
South Sulawesi province on Monday to assess the possibility of
sending aid to the area.

The team will spend a few days in South Sulawesi to collect
information and inputs needed to support an aid program, said
secretary of the South Sulawesi branch of Red Cross Indonesia,
Lutfi Qadir, in Makassar, South Sulawesi Tuesday.

The team will be visiting Wajo, Rone and Polmas districts as
well as Makassar to inspect poor areas and community health
levels.

Lutfi noted that this year, only two Indonesian provinces will
have the opportunity to receive aid from the International Red
Cross, the other being West Sumatra.

Similar activities have been successful in promoting
development in countries including Vietnam, Laos, Mozambique, the
Philippines, and other areas of Indonesia, he said.

The team has already met with Makassar Mayor HB Amiruddin
Maula.

Lutfi added that South Sulawesi has been appointed by Red
Cross Indonesia as the Red Cross storage center for Eastern
Indonesia. --Antara

Govt told to declare Aceh off limit

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government prohibit foreign emissaries
from visiting Aceh as it evaluates the latest developments in the
strife-torn province, a legislator said Tuesday.

Tjahjo Kumolo, secretary of the Indonesian Democratic Party-
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction in the House of
Representatives, was commenting on a visit to Aceh by Anthony
Zinni, a United States general who was acting on behalf of the
Henry Dunant Center to monitor the security condition there.

"The presence of the U.S. government emissary should be
handled with care, so as not to provoke tension and public
opinion on Aceh," Tjahjo was quoted by Antara as saying in
Semarang, Central Java on Tuesday.

"There is no need to allow foreign observers or emissaries to
visit Aceh or any other troubled area in the country," he said.

During a meeting with GAM negotiator T. Kamaruzzaman, Zinni
inquired on the follow-up to an agreement between the Indonesian
government and the GAM, reached during a meeting in Geneva last
May 9 and 10, concerning an all-inclusive dialog and the
possibility of ending all violence.

Zinni, who arrived in Aceh on Monday (Aug 5) for a two-day
visit, was also scheduled to meet with Aceh military commander,
Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf, and Aceh provincial police chief,
Inspector Gen. Yusuf Mangga Barani, on Tuesday. --Antara