We need to be with govt, and they need to be with us

We need to be with govt, and they need to be with us

The United Nations has been instrumental in coordinating
international efforts to help the tsunami victims in Aceh. The
Jakarta Post's Riyadi Suparno spoke with the UN coordinator for
relief operations in Aceh, Joel Boutroue, for his insights into
the global effort to help victims in the province.

Question: How do you coordinate with all of the parties
involved in relief operations?

Answer: We have people sitting with the government, and we
need to improve and increase the number of our people sitting
with the government, to have a better flow of information -- both
ways -- so that we can better complement each other. That's one.

We need also to continue strengthening the NGOs' efforts to
avoid duplication, and the UN plays a useful role there. We have
regular meetings with them, so that we have a good flow of
information so we can direct them. We also have government
representatives in our working groups.

So, we need to be with the government, and the government
needs to be with us. It often gets complicated because there are
so many actors -- which is an expression of the good will of the
international community to support the Indonesians -- but we
don't have any other choice but better coordination.

The UN has been engaged in relief operations in Aceh for two
weeks. What's the biggest challenge that has been faced so far?

The biggest hurdle is logistics ... I mean 300,000 or 400,000
IDPs (internally displaced persons) is not a huge number.

But it becomes an extremely difficult task because of poor
infrastructure. The roads are destroyed and the changed landscape
makes it extremely hard to reach these people in a predictable
and regular manner.

Most communities have been reached in one way or another, but
they have not been reached in a regular and predictable manner.
So, we need to enter a new phase there, where we can try to reach
them regularly and adequately.

Foreign military elements and NGOs have been instrumental in
reaching refugees along the west coast of Aceh. How long do you
think they will need to stay?

Well, their operation is very expensive, but for the time
being we will still need their helicopters in big numbers. But I
understand that the government and the military are looking for
an alternative solution, like using boats.

The government is also repairing the roads as well. For
example, we know that we can now go from Medan to Meulaboh via
land roads, although it takes a long time, 24 hours at least.

Also, the road from Sigli to Meulaboh is also much more
accessible it seems. And we need to increase that. But the roads
between Meulaboh and Banda Aceh are totally inaccessible because
you have to rebuild maybe 90 percent of the roads.

But this could take months. So we need to find new ways, such
as using boats -- big and small -- and trucks.

The government has plans to build relocation centers for
displaced persons from remote places to allow for regular
assistance. What's the UN's role in this project?

We are trying to define our role in this project. We have had
meetings with NGOs, the government and UN agencies, and I asked
the UNHCR to facilitate that and define the roles of each.

The government has asked for our support and we are most
willing to do that. We have a number of requirements which the
government has agreed to such as the relocation must be
voluntary, and the government has agreed to this. Also, there are
other technical standards that must be respected, such as so many
square meters per person and those type of things.

My understanding is that the government wants these types of
relocation centers to be temporary, meaning much more adequate
than the present ones. It's temporary because by such time
reconstruction of individual houses can start again.

In the meantime, you need to help the poor people whose lives
have been partly destroyed or those who survived but have nothing
left.

In addition to relocation centers, what other things do we
need with regards to displaced persons in Aceh?

We need to do two things here. First, help the IDPs wherever
they are, and at the same time help the people not in relocation
centers. Otherwise, we are creating an even stronger pull factor,
and end up having an additional dozens of thousands of people
going into these centers, which is not good for the longer term.

So, we need to help people whose houses and lives have been
destroyed. Also, for those whose houses have not been destroyed
but whose lives have been affected, we need to help them where
they are so that they are not going down to these centers and
creating an unnecessary movement of population, which in the long
term could be counterproductive for the future of Aceh itself.

Putting people in centers will make them more dependent to
outside assistance. And it's not good for the longer term.

We want to minimize the impacts of the centers on the entire
vulnerable population.

How long will the UN continue to work in Aceh? Will it be
involved in the reconstruction stage?

We need to discuss it with the government. Indeed, some
development agencies, certainly the UN and the NGOs, are here not
only doing the emergency programs, but also for longer term
recovery programs.

And we need to discuss it sooner rather than later in a more
strategic fashion with the government, where they see us
supporting them in the development efforts. There are some
transition programs, or what we call emergency recovery or
emergency rehabilitation programs, for the whole of 2005. And we
need to discuss it with the government beyond 2005.