Refugees in Aceh 'face starvation'

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Some 38,000 refugees in the regencies of South Aceh and East Aceh are facing starvation due to slow distribution of food supplies, an official and activist said on Thursday.

"We were informed that the government -- through the local social welfare office -- has distributed 25 tons of rice to the refugees in South Aceh. But so far, only two tons have been distributed here," chairman of the Karya Bersama Foundation (Yasma) T.M. Yacoub said, as quoted by Antara.

Approximately 22,000 local residents have sought shelter in South Aceh since July 19. They came three neighboring subdistricts of Trumon, Bakongan and Manggeng, he said.

"If a person is allotted four ounces of rice a day, some 8.8 tons would be needed each day for these 22,000 refugees, while the amount of rice which has been distributed is only two tons per day," he explained.

Most of the some 14,000 refugees have come from Trumon subdistrict.

"We demand that the provincial administration speed up the distribution of the food," Yacoub said.

Meanwhile, in East Aceh, five heads of villages from Idi and Nurussalam districts representing some 16,000 refugees here met with East Aceh regent Azman Usmanuddin on Thursday, demanding that security troops be pulled out from their villages.

"We want to come home but we are afraid of more violence. If they (the troops) are still roaming the areas, incidents might happen any moment," one of the village chiefs said.

The refugees had been hit by illness such as severe respiratory problems, diarrhea and dehydration, East Aceh regional secretary Irawan Yunus said.

"The illnesses have especially hit the children here. Security authorities, however, thought that these refugees were victims of propaganda from provocateurs who spread terror in their villages," Irawan added.

Elsewhere in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, the United States Embassy reportedly checked data and information on the missing activist of the New York-based International Forum for Aceh (IFA), Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, the news agency reported.

"The U.S. consulate is closely monitoring this case," said Medan's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) director, Irham Buana Nasution.

Jafar was last seen in Medan on Saturday and is feared to have been abducted due to his activities in defending human rights in Aceh. (50/edt)