01-16-2005, 06:57 PM
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#11 (permalink)
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Junkie
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Despite the fact that the opinion piece that started this thread was extremely biased, I thought I would post this news story.
Quote:
Indonesia back-pedals over Aceh pullout
By Deborah Cameron, Herald Correspondent in Jakarta and agencies
January 17, 2005
Indonesia has categorically withdrawn a deadline set by its Vice-President, Jusuf Kalla, for the departure of foreign troops from the tsunami-devastated regions of Aceh.
"We would like to emphasise that March 26 is not a deadline for involvement of foreign military personnel in the relief effort," the Defence Minister, Juwono Sudarsono, said yesterday.
"It is a benchmark for the Indonesian Government to improve and accelerate its relief efforts, so that by March 26 the large part of the burden of the relief effort will be carried by the Indonesian Government and Indonesian authorities," he said.
With the aid effort continuing, and escalating fears of disease and malaria, there were concerns that the departure of troops would backfire on Indonesia and magnify the disaster.
A United Nations relief official, Jan Egeland, was among voices urging Jakarta not to press ahead with the deadline, set last week by Jusuf Kalla. "I am sure the Indonesian Government will agree with me that the most important thing is to save lives and not have deadlines," he said.
The US, whose helicopters are doing most of the aid distribution, was prepared to go along with Indonesia's wish for an early departure, however Mr Sudarsono's statement came following a meeting in Jakarta with the US Deputy Secretary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz.
Mr Wolfowitz, on a whirlwind trip to Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, was earlier briefed by US military commanders on the progress of their aid mission.
They said they had nearly completed their emergency relief operations in Thailand and Sri Lanka and could withdraw most of the US troops there within two weeks. But the devastated western coast of Indonesia could need foreign military assistance for some time.
The commanders said they were dealing with "mind-boggling" destruction in Aceh province, on the north-western tip of Sumatra island, and were still assessing the population's need for food, water and medical care. Parts of a main highway have been washed away, preventing them from reaching isolated communities that could be in dire need of help, they said.
Marine Lieutenant-General Robert Blackman, who commands a multinational support force based in U-Tapao, Thailand, told Mr Wolfowitz that the mission in Indonesia required "daily maintenance" and that a "fog of relief" was still being sorted out.
As international relief efforts continued, aid volunteers in Aceh province battled to combat outbreaks of "secondary illness" in tightly packed makeshift camps.
So far, efforts to tackle diseases such as cholera, typhoid, measles and malaria have been successful but Stefan Templeton, a paramedic with the French medical group Elisa, said his team was treating two people expected to die from tetanus.
The director of emergency programs with the UN Children's Fund, Daniel Toole, said that while tetanus cases were still limited, more were appearing with up to 20 around Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh.
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REF: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Asia-Tsun...810774859.html
Mr Mephisto |
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