Will the world deliver on its promises to Aceh?

Will the world deliver on its promises to Aceh?

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta

U.S. military crews launching more than 100 helicopter flights
a day from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ferrying
food, water and medicine to tsunami victims in Aceh, regard their
current mission as more satisfying than the Iraq war.

"Here we're helping people, not destroying things," said U.S.
Navy helicopter pilot Rachel Brainard as quoted by Reuters on
Tuesday.

According to the news agency, desperate Indonesian villagers
have rushed to the choppers to grab supplies, but they also are
expressing gratitude -- something the U.S. military has not had
much of in Iraq since invading that country in 2003 to oust
Saddam Hussein.

TV reports show Acehnese enthusiastically greeting American
soldiers. These scenes may annoy some Indonesian Military (TNI)
commanders because the TNI has not received a similar reception
despite working just as hard as part of the humanitarian
operation. But when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited
Aceh on Wednesday, the TNI's top brass in Aceh gave him the same
warm welcome.

U.S. Navy pilot Brainard's spirit hopefully will be shared by
the 13 foreign leaders, including Chinese Prime Minister Wen
Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Australian
Prime Minister John Howard, scheduled to attend the Asian tsunami
disaster summit here on Thursday.

The desire to help the victims is expected to play a dominant
role during the meeting, which is not meant to be just another
opportunity for rich countries to show that they are more
generous and more powerful -- at least in public -- than others.

Host President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has appealed for
global relief, will be extremely heartened by the world's prompt
response to his SOS message for help in the country's tsunami-
affected regions, especially Aceh. Of the estimated 150,000
people killed in the disaster, nearly 100,000 of them died in the
war-torn Aceh.

Of course, the President must remember that the status of
Indonesia as the world's sixth most corrupt country will have
donors concerned about the ultimate destination of their aid.

But Susilo also has his pride. He is, after all, the leader of
the world's most populous Muslim nation, directly elected by the
people. In terms of democracy, his leadership is more legitimate
than guests like Howard, Koizumi and Jiabao because they were not
directly elected by the voters.

Germany looks to be the top donor, pledging 500 million euros
(US$668 million) for victims of the disaster, followed by Japan
with $500 million. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has pledged $30 million
for Asian tsunami victims after tripling its initial pledge of
$10 million. Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher
has pledged $10 million.

When the donors make good on their pledges, the people in the
affected areas will be able to start their lives over with the
help of the international community.

However, sincerity alone is not enough. The people who come to
help must also be sensitive to the feelings of local people and
governments. They are guests here, no matter how important they
are and how desperate they are needed. It is unacceptable to
offer sermons or lectures along with aid.

It could backfire if, for example, foreign donors publicly
insisted they had the right to deliver aid to the Free Aceh
Movement. Once the Indonesian Military feels it has been
sidelined in the humanitarian operation in Aceh -- and that
sentiment is currently growing -- it will become a major obstacle
to the reconstruction of Aceh. Like it or not, the TNI has the
best access to the province.

Also, we should not forget the wise saying, "There is no such
thing as a free lunch."

The disaster victims hope President Susilo will not have
occasion to repeat the complaints of Iranian President Mohammed
Khatami over the failure of many countries to realize their
donation pledges. Khatami was quoted by the BBC as saying that
only $17 million of the $1 billion initially promised by foreign
countries had been received to help rebuild Bam following the
devastating earthquake there. At least 30,000 people were killed
when an earthquake hit Bam on Dec. 26, 2003.

If the Acehnese find that foreign leaders are no better than
Indonesian leaders in delivering on their promises, there will be
no hope to convince the Acehnese that the outside world cares
about their suffering.

This tragedy is probably the last chance for Indonesia to end
the suffering of the people in Aceh. Only a disaster on this
scale could end -- practically -- the decades-long military
oppression of the Acehnese.

Aceh, which has been closed to foreigners since the
declaration of a military emergency in the province in May 2003
and followed by the civil emergency status until now, is suddenly
very open to foreigners, even military personnel. Many foreign
dignitaries are expected to visit the province before and after
the Jakarta summit, including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

How can the government use this momentum to change its
approach to Aceh? Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said that the
civil emergency in the province is no longer effective and that
the central government will take over the running of Aceh,
because the infrastructure has been totally destroyed and many
local officials were killed or are still missing. However, the
government still has not decided about the fate of the civil
emergency in Aceh.

The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post. He can be
reached at purba@thejakartapost.com.