Thousands of Aceh refugees to move to new barracks

Fadli and Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Thousands of Acehnese people taking refuge in public buildings following the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster will begin moving into new temporary accommodation on Tuesday, local officials say.

In the first phase, more than 425 families occupying the Aceh provincial legislature building, the Banda Aceh sports stadium, mosques and school buildings will be given priority to move into around 237 units of new housing completed during the past two months, local officials said.

"Those occupying public buildings and offices will be given the first opportunity to move into the accommodation. They will be transported with five buses from the local transportation office under the supervision of subdistrict heads and local community leaders," Banda Aceh Mayor Mawardy Nurdin said here on Monday.

The data on refugees occupying the public buildings was at hand and the refugees had already been informed about the move and where they would go, he said.

Those occupying public buildings were prioritized so that these buildings could be freed for their original use, he said.

Mawardy assured the placement of refugees would occur smoothly. The relevant authorities, local leaders and non- governmental organizations were all coordinating to help the refugees, he said.

Many refugees in the city have opposed being put into the temporary housing constructed near the baldly hit Meuraxa and Lhoknga subdistricts. Many still fear other tsunamis after frequent smaller aftershocks have rocked the city during the past six weeks.

Aceh Besar Regent Rusli Muhammad said local authorities would not use force to relocate refugees. The relocations would be conducted in phases because many of the planned houses were still under construction, he said.

Meanwhile, Totok Pri, the director of the local development planning board, said local authorities had faced many problems that have contributed to the late construction of the refugee housing.

"The short supply of timber, lack of transportation facilities and clear land are the three main factors that have contributed to the late construction," he said. So far only 237 units of housing had been completed while the remaining 566 units were still under construction, he said.

According to the grand plan, the government would build a total of 803 units of housing to temporarily accommodate 9,730 families living public buildings and tents in refugee areas in the province before they were permanently resettled in new housing townships constructed by the government with financial assistance from foreign countries and international agencies. These second-stage reconstruction efforts were scheduled to start in March.

Four state-owned enterprises -- PT Nindya Karya, Wijaya Karta, PT Waskita Karya and PT Pembangunan Perumahan -- will build the housing under the supervision of the Ministry of Regional Resettlement and Infrastructure.

The financing would be covered by the 2005 state budget, he said.