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