Official sends Aceh refugees packing

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

A total of 41 refugee families fleeing violence in Aceh were rejected in their designated new location in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra.

The coordinator of Acehnese refugees staying at the Insyaf shelter house in Medan, Ujang Kosasih, said here on Saturday that the 41 families had to return to the shelter house after they were rejected by South Tapanuli Regent Saleh Harahap.

Ujang said that the Federation of North Sumatra Farmers and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) had promised those refugees that they had prepared plots of land in Saba Dingin village in Barumun district, South Tapanuli, for them to stay and earn a living.

"We were promised that we would receive assistance totaling Rp 68 million (US$7,600) to start a living. All the money, as well as the funding to purchase 40 hectares of land will come from a foreign donor, namely the United Nations Development Program," he said.

With the promise, the families left the shelter house to South Tapanuli last Monday, where they were met by local authorities, including regent Saleh.

"The regent told us to leave South Tapanuli and return to Medan," he said.

Kontras' North Sumatra coordinator Oslan Purba said he was disappointed by the regent's actions, saying that the village head had agreed to allow refugees to stay in the village.

"We urge the government to dismiss the South Sulawesi regent. This is a discriminative action," he said.

Meanwhile, North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that he could not interfere in the matter, saying the regent had full authority over his territory.