As the Aceh aid effort gathers pace, reports have been emerging from the battered province that Indonesian troops sent in to help distribute aid have instead been selling the supplies to the hungry and desperate victims of the tsunami. The Indonesian military meanwhile has claimed Acehnese rebels have themselves been blocking access to clean water supplies.

Presenter/Interviewer: David Mark

Speakers: Nurdin Abdul Rahman, Liaison Officer for Australian Acehnese Community; Damien Kingsbury, Deakin University

David Mark: Security has become a major issue in Aceh. Aid workers and foreign troops have been banned from much the province as battles continue between the TNI and the Aceh separatist movement. The TNI have accused the rebels of attempting to disrupt aid deliveries in Aceh.

Now come fresh accusations that the TNI, which controls most of the refugee camps in aid distribution centres in Aceh, is profiting from the aid pouring in. Nurdin Abdul Rahman is the liaison officer for the Acehnese Community of Australia and has extensive contacts in his homeland. He's been told by two Acehnese academics that TNI troops have been selling aid supplies intended for refugees in Lhokseumawe in Aceh's north.

Nurdin Abdul Rahman: Three days ago they found and they got information that TNI personnel in Lhokseumawe sold noodle, instant noodles to the victims. This instant noodles was supposed to be delivered freely to the victims, but these two professors who are taking money from the victims approached this military and asked why they ask for money but this military man kind of threatened him then.

David Mark: Are people paying for the food?

Nurdin Abdul Rahman: Yeah, some of them did pay, but some of them refused to pay because they didn't have money.

David Mark: Damien Kingsbury, the Director of the Masters Program in International and Community Development at Deakin University, has heard the same rumours, and set out to confirm the story via a contact in Banda Aceh.

Dmien Kingsbury: Yes, I've heard a number of stories about the TNI stockpiling food and distributing in selectively and indeed selling it to refugees. It seems that the staple that they're selling at the moment is dried noodles and they're selling these for about 500 rupia a packet or about 10 cents Australian.

David Mark: And have you had this confirmed?

Dmien Kingsbury: Yes, I've had it confirmed from a number of sources. In particular a university student who's a contact of mine in Banda Aceh has directly confirmed this.

David Mark: What did that student do to confirm these reports?

Dmien Kingsbury: He went to an aid distribution centre seeking the food and they said well yes, it's available, you have to pay for it, and he did, and that certainly happened.

David Mark: How is this actually operating? How are the TNI in the first instance getting the food and how are they selling it and where are they selling it?

Dmien Kingsbury: They're selling it through or from distribution centres. They're getting it directly from the Indonesian Government by way of aid from Indonesian Government to the Acehnese people, and also some of the supplies that are coming from the international community which are being stockpiled by the TNI, which are being warehoused by the TNI awaiting distribution are being pilfered or directly sold off.

The Australian Council for International Development and Care Australia both say they're unaware of the allegations that TNI has been selling food aid, but a spokesman for Care says their staff in Aceh would investigate.