Post-conflict Maluku seeks recovery funds from Jakarta

Post-conflict Maluku seeks recovery funds from Jakarta

Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku

Despite being battered by two years of sectarian conflict from
1999 to 2001, the province of Maluku is still uncertain when a
special fund would be allocated for its post-conflict recovery
programs.

Two other strife-torn provinces, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and
Papua, have already received trillions of rupiah from special
autonomy funds provided by Jakarta.

West Southeast Maluku (MTB) regent SJ Oratmangun said the
uncertainty over the Special Presidential Instruction (Inpres)
fund's disbursement for Maluku's recovery showed unfairness on
the part of the central government.

The impact of the religious fighting on the province was
serious, he said, with a large amount of infrastructure destroyed
or damaged. But unlike Aceh and Papua, the Maluku provincial
government had to beg from the central government for money.

"Maluku has not received anything, while Papua and Aceh have
been flooded with trillions of rupiah. The National Development
Planning Board (Bappenas) has stated Rp 6 trillion (US$706
million) has been allocated for Aceh and Rp 7 trillion to Papua,"
Oratmangun said.

He told The Jakarta Post at a seminar on Maluku Development
Planning at the Baileo Siwalima building in Ambon last Tuesday
that the State Guidelines Policy (GBHN) had recommended three
conflict areas -- Aceh, Papua and Maluku -- be given special
attention by the central government.

Based on the GBHN, Aceh and Papua receive funds from the
central government under special autonomy treatment, while
assistance for Maluku is regulated under the Inpres fund.

"There is still no certainty about the amount to be allocated
for Maluku through the special Inpres fund. We have to beg from
the ministries in Jakarta. If they provide us with funds, I will
thank God. If not, what can we do? In this context, I think they
treat Maluku like an (unloved) stepchild," Oratmangun said.

Some 6,000 people were killed, while thousands of houses,
schools, mosques, churches and other buildings were destroyed
during the two-year conflict in the province.

Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their
homes to refugee camps. The war ended after Muslim and Christian
leaders signed a peace accord brokered by the government in 2001.

Oratmangun, a former head of the Maluku Conflict Crisis task
force, said the refugee problem had not yet been solved partly
because of the lack of funds.

The central government should therefore pay more attention to
Maluku's rehabilitation program, he said.

"I have frequently brought up Maluku's condition to those at
the national level, but to no avail. Do we need to demand
independence in order for the central government to pay serious
attention to us?" he said.

Separately, an expert with the State Ministry for the
Acceleration of Development in Eastern Indonesia, Moch.
Ikhwanuddin Mawardi, said the special Inpres fund meant
prioritizing attention to Maluku, but not necessarily in the form
of special aid.

However, he said the amount of funds proposed for the Maluku
recovery program should be increased as the impact of the
conflict were extremely serious.

Mawardi said his office had proposed the Rp 1.002 trillion
allocated for decentralization be calculated again so as to give
more funds to the province.

He said the Inpres fund had not been disbursed because the
special presidential instruction was only recently issued on
Sept. 21, 2003.

Mawardi said he hoped the fund would be disbursed next year.