Rp 825b in humanitarian aid for Aceh held up: Governor

JAKARTA (JP): Aceh Governor Ramli Ridwan said on Tuesday his people were reaping little benefit from a cease-fire between separatist rebels and security forces, and urged an extension of the accord.

Speaking to journalist after meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid here, Ramli said local authorities had been unable to implement the three-month truce agreement properly because they had not received any of the allotted Rp 825 billion earmarked for humanitarian assistance.

The disbursement of aid was one of the items agreed to in the three-month cease-fire deal signed in Geneva in May, and which took effect on June 2. Some of the aid was to go to villagers displaced by fighting.

"The humanitarian pause has not been felt by the Acehnese," Ramli said.

"We hope for an extension of (the cease-fire)," he added. "As of now, the Rp 825 billion in humanitarian aid has not been cleared."

Ramli did not say where the funds were meant to come from or why they had been held up. A number of foreign countries promised to provide Indonesia with funds for Aceh as part of the cease- fire.

Despite the agreement, violence still haunts the province of four million people, although there appears to have been fewer clashes between Free Aceh Movement rebels and military troops and police officers.

Support for independence in Aceh has been fueled by years of alleged human rights violations by the police and military, and resentment over what is seen as Jakarta's siphoning off of wealth from the area's natural resources.

Ramli said the President might visit Aceh after August. Abdurrahman, who must appear before the People's Consultative Assembly next month to account for his first turbulent year in office, has postponed other proposed trips to Aceh, although he did visit the tiny and peaceful island of Sabang off the northwest coast of the province.

In Aceh, unidentified gunmen blasted two oil tanks in the depot of PT Aromatic, a subsidiary of the Humpuss Group, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

North Aceh Police chief Supt. Syafei Aksal said the first explosion took place at approximately 5 a.m. local time at the oil depot in Rancong village, and was followed by a second blast about five minutes later. There were no casualties in the incident.

"The sound of the explosions could be heard two kilometers away and witnesses said the flames reached up to 80 meters high," Syafei said, adding that police had not yet identified the attackers.

This was the second such incident at the PT Aromatic compound, with the first attack taking place last month.

The location of the blasts is a kilometer away from PT Arun, the company that produces liquefied natural gas from a natural gas field operated by Exxon-Oil.

Suspected Free Aceh Movement rebels launched attacks in April and May on a number of Exxon-Oil's facilities, including its airport, forcing the company to temporarily suspend some of its gas and oil drilling activities.

Meanwhile, at least 11,000 refugees from 22 villages in Kluet Selatan district in South Aceh have been gathering at mosques and schools in the Rasian area since Monday.

The acting South Aceh Police chief, Asst. Supt. Supriadi Djalal, said the residents fled their villages following threats of arson attacks by an unidentified group.

Locals, however, claimed they were terrified by the sweeping operations carried out by security forces to quash rebel activity in the area. (50/edt/byg)