Thousands threatened by food shortages in Aceh

Thousands threatened by food shortages in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): As many as 62,000 residents of the isolated
island of Simeulue in Aceh have been reportedly facing food
shortages after its three ferries were removed on Sept. 15 from
service there.

"If the sea traffic is not restored within five days, some
Simeuleu residents will starve," said Raswandi Mariadi, a
representative of Simeulue's regent, as reported by Antara in the
island's capital of Sinabang on Monday.

Rice stocks have been depleted, while the local State
Logistics Agency had long stopped functioning, he said.

The island's monthly demand of 6,200 metric tons of rice is
normally supplied from Meulaboh, West Aceh, but the ferry KM
Kakap, which usually plied the Meulaboh-Sinabang route, was
transferred on Sept. 15 to the Sibolga-Gunung Sitoli route in
North Sumatra.

The ferries KM Dengkis and KM Lili have also stopped service
to the island because of mechanical problems.

Simeulue is 108 nautical miles, or 13 hours ferry ride, from
Meulaboh and has five districts.

"Without the help of the Aceh provincial administration, we
can't do much. Our people will eventually go hungry," Raswandi
said.

He suggested that the provincial administration ask either the
Navy to deploy ships or the Air Force to utilize aircraft to
ferry foodstuffs to the island.

"We're facing starvation, not because we can't afford to buy
food, but because there are no stocks coming in," he said.

Antara also reported from Larantuka, East Nusa Tenggara, that
residents of 10 villages in Witihama on Adonara island in East
Flores regency had to move their food stocks inside their houses
following a recent outbreak of barn thefts.

"There's always people reporting that their corn or green bean
stocks were stolen from their barns," said Mustafa Miak, the head
of Oringbele village.

More than 30 barns have reportedly been pillaged, though
owners say they have not dared to report the incidents to police.

Ama Raja Yusuf, one of the villagers, said the looters came in
groups of ten from outside the district. Some have even used
speedboats to transport their booty.

Locals said similar outbreaks of looting took place in 1965
when drought caused massive crop failures.

Commodities

The head of the National Development Planning Board, Boediono,
said in Yogyakarta on Monday that the government was now
mobilizing all its resources to meet public demands for basic
commodities.

"Our priority now is how to lift Indonesia out of the crisis
as soon as possible," he said as quoted by Antara in a lecture at
Gadjah Mada University.

He also said the board had made it a priority to establish
programs which could immediately benefit the people, including
setting up an effective distribution system of low-cost
essentials.

"Our role now is like a housewife who has to feed many
children on a very limited budget. We have to keep on thinking
about how to prevent the children from going hungry," he said.

Separately, Minister of Cooperatives, Small and Medium
Enterprises Adi Sasono said in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, that
he hoped prices of essentials "would return to normal" by the end
of the year.

"We are hoping that the economic difficulties caused by the
monetary crisis will (end) within the next three months," he said
in a meeting with Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna, regents and officials
of the ministry's provincial office.

He was quoted by Antara as describing the importance of
securing a supply of basic commodities since food shortages would
wreak havoc in people's lives and disrupt the domestic political
situation.

He cited that since the crisis hit Indonesia in July last
year, the number of the country's poor people had increased from
22 million to 79 million.

"Unrest in the form of looting foodstuffs and even crops
should be handled delicately by regents in order to prevent even
greater problems," he said. (swe)