Respiratory problems hit refugees in Aceh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Health problems have added to the misery of thousands of Acehnese refugees since they abandoned their homes for camps to evade gunfights between government troops and separatist rebels in the province.

A spokesman for the provincial social affairs agency, Burhanuddin, said cases of upper tract respiratory infection and diarrhea had been found in the most crowded camp in Cot Gapu field in Bireuen regency.

He blamed poor sanitation and a lack of clean water for the diseases, but short stopped of detailing local government measures to deal with the health problems.

Many of some 10,000 people from Juli district sheltering in the camp, situated one kilometer from the heart of downtown Bireuen, demanded that they be allowed to return to their homes, saying they could not stand the unhygienic conditions at the camp.

There are only 20 bath rooms for the refugees in the camp, which was built by the government.

"There is no water available for wudhu (ritual ablution for Muslims), let alone for bathing. Many of us cannot pray due to the absence of water," Hasanah, one of the refugees, said.

Aceh is a predominantly Muslim province, where sharia has taken effect as part of the special autonomy package granted to the territory to curb the demand for independence.

There are over 40,000 displaced people across Aceh, 16,000 of them in Bireuen and the rest scattered across nine regencies in the province.

Burhanuddin said the number of refugees once exceeded 62,000.

He said the local government had distributed rice, canned food, coconut oil, sugar, powdered milk for children below five years old and clothes to the refugees.

Responding to the refugees' demand to be allowed to return to their homes, military spokesman Lt. Col. Achmad Yani Basuki said they could leave only if security had been restored in their residential areas.

The evacuation of people is part of military efforts to avoid civilian casualties during the operation to crush the rebels, who have blended in with people while waging guerrilla warfare.

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said in Jakarta it would take around four months to effectively separate the rebels from civilians.

"Separating civilians from GAM is the most difficult phase in our operation because some civilians are also relatives of GAM rebels," Endriartono said.

He said the TNI would intensify its offensive to occupy GAM bases as soon as the rebels were separated from civilians.

After nearly one month since the military operation began, the TNI claims to have killed 202 rebels, but only dozens of weapons have been seized.

Endriartono said he was curious about the discrepancy between the number of rebels shot dead and arms confiscated. "We are still analyzing these facts," he said.

He also denied allegations that two F-16 jet fighters deployed on Monday had killed civilians. He said the use of warplanes to attack separatist bases was aimed at showing the Indonesian public that the TNI is stronger than the rebel group.