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INDONESIA IS INTERFERING WITH TSUNAMI AID TO ACHEH!PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS THAT WILL DELIVER AID QUICKLY AND PROPERLY! Acheh (also spelled Aceh), on the westernmost tip of the island of Sumatra, was near the epicenter of the earthquake and was devastated by the largest tsunami waves-survivors describe the waves as "two coconut trees tall" (50 feet). The coastline of Acheh was shattered, countless villages were wiped off the map, and much of the capital, Banda Acheh, was flattened. As of Jan. 23, the Indonesian ministry of health estimates the death toll at almost 174,000 in that country, almost all in Acheh. Earlier estimates of refugees stood at 600,000, including 50,000 orphans, figure likely to be higher now. Despite the level of devastation, Acheh has been getting proportionally less assistance than many other areas, and the Indonesian government has shamefully delayed and hindered aid. A week and a half after people lost everything, some still have not received any aid. Hunger and disease will kill many of the survivors. The delay is undoubtedly due to Indonesia’s desire to use the catastrophe to end Acheh’s longstanding independence struggle. Acheh has been under a "civil emergency" (martial law) for the past year and a half, and until several days after the disaster struck, it had banned almost all journalists and humanitarian workers from Acheh. The province is occupied by 70,000 armed forces. Both traditional corruption in the military and political hostility toward the Achenese mean that the Indonesian government cannot be counted on to provide proper assistance. Even now that the U.S. is helicoptering in aid and humanitarian NGOs are there (who are skilled to delivering aid and do not need the military), the military is interposing itself between the aid and the victims. We have received many reports that the soldiers are demanding, from people who lost everything, both money for food and other aid, and their identity papers-- the latter so that the military can continue to search for guerillas and civil society dissidents, both of whom it shoots on sight. Although the guerillas declared a cease-fire, the military has refused to do so and has killed several guerillas who were engaged in humanitarian work. According to reports from independent journalists in Banda Acheh, much aid is piling up unused at military bases and airports. There are also reports that every night, military forces are looting those homes still standing in Banda Acheh, and reports of lost and orphaned children being sold out of the refugee camps. WHY CONTRIBUTE THROUGH ACHEH CENTER? Acheh Center is an association of Achenese refugees who live in the U.S. Most of us were activists in the civil society movements for self-determination that flowered after the end of the dictatorship in Indonesia in 1998, and then were severely repressed. Most of us were forced to flee Acheh for our lives during the past few years. Now we are working to provide direct, immediate aid and financial support to the victims of the disaster. We are sending contributions to the Coalition to Save Acheh (COFSA), a non-governmental organization in Medan. We know its members to be competent and trustworthy, and because Medan is just south of Acheh, they are able to get relief aid into Acheh quickly. We are asking everyone who can to make a contribution to support the relief work in Acheh through COFSA, WALHI, ETAN or other organizations that can get it there fast, without needing the cooperation of the Indonesian government or military. HOW TO
CONTRIBUTE: To
Citibank in NYC: ---- Information from: Acheh Center, USA P.O. Box 6296, Hbg, PA 17112 USA. Tel. (717) 343-1598 Updated 24 January 05 |
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