President Soeharto visits disaster stricken village

JAKARTA (JP): Another powerful earthquake rocked the southeastern tip of Java yesterday only hours before President Soeharto flew to Banyuwangi, which was severely devastated by massive tidal waves early this month.

There were no reports of new casualties nor any indication that the quake, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale, had caused tidal waves similar to the ones that killed more than 200 people on June 3.

The Meteorology and Geophysics agency said the quake had its epicenter in the Indian Ocean about 137 kilometer southeast from the coastline.

One official in Pesanggrahan, a subdistrict in Banyuwangi, however reported that some corpses from the previous disaster had been unearthed by the powerful tremor.

Soeharto flew in a helicopter to Pancer, a village in the Banyuwangi regency which was the worst affected by the calamity.

Local officials informed him that a total of 223 people were killed in the June 3 disaster, with 204 in Banyuwangi regency alone. Some 22 people are still listed as missing.

Hundreds of houses were also destroyed and more than 1,000 fishing boats, the main means for villagers to earn their livelihoods, had either been destroyed or gone astray.

The president yesterday toured the devastated area and spoke with the survivors, providing them with words of comfort and encouragement that they should rebuild their lives quickly.

He also offered to provide some 1,000 boats, fitted with engines, on loan, so that they can resume earning their income soon.

"How soon can you repay the loans?" he asked the fishermen at Pancer.

The boats offered range in price from Rp 250,000 to 750,000 while the engines cost Rp 1.5 million a piece. The loans will be repayable within three years.

Worst disaster

Soeharto was accompanied by Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono and Minister of Trade Satrio Boediardjo Joedono during the brief visit to the area, the Antara news agency reported.

It was the worst natural disaster to hit Indonesia since tidal waves, combined with a powerful earthquake, killed over 2,000 people in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, in December of 1992.

Soeharto urged the survivors of the disaster in Banyuwangi to follow the government's instructions when rebuilding their homes as certain areas might be declared too dangerous following the tidal waves.

He said some of the victims must be prepared to be relocated for their own safety.

"Why are you so reluctant to move?" he asked one villager who had told him that he and his family would rather stay put because the coastline has plenty of fish.

Meanwhile, in Jakarta Minister of Social Services Endang Kusuma Inten Suweno admitted yesterday that there were some problems with the distribution of the relief aid that is now pouring into Banyuwangi.

Inten told a hearing with the House of Representatives that there bound to be obstacles to the relief operation, especially because of the shortage of skilled and trained manpower to handle such a huge task.

She assured the House that the government is doing its utmost to ensure that the aid reach the intended recipients on time.

There had been reports earlier that despite the massive amount of aid going to Banyuwangi, many survivors were only getting fed once a day because of poor distribution.

Inten said yesterday that she was impressed with the Indonesian and international publics extension of aid to the victims of the disaster.

So much so that the absence of the funds from the government's SDSB lottery, which was scrapped last November because of strong opposition from religious leaders, was not felt.

The SDSB had been the prime source of Ministry of Social Service funding, which finances relief operations in the wake of natural disasters. (prs/05)