Jakarta – The United Nations must pressure Indonesia into allowing relief aid into its war-torn province of Aceh in order to prevent a full-blown humanitarian crisis from developing in the region of 4.2 million people, Human Rights Watch warned.
"The Indonesian government should not be blocking humanitarian assistance at this critical juncture," Brad Adams, one of the group's executive directors, said in a statement received Friday.
Indonesia introduced strict restrictions on foreign aid workers, diplomats and journalists trying to reach the province in May, when it abandoned a truce with separatist rebels and launched a massive military campaign to wipe out the 27-year insurgency. The cease-fire – worked out with the help of the United States, Japan, and a number of Western countries – had been seen as the best hope for achieving a political resolution to the conflict in the oil- and natural gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
Some 50,000 troops and paramilitary police backed by air strikes and naval bombardments are currently engaged in the offensive to root out about 2,000 guerrillas of the Free Aceh Movement and about 2,000-3,000 part-time fighters. The war has claimed the lives of more than one thousand civilians, rebels and government troops. Human rights groups have complained about the lack of access to the region, saying there were indications of massive abuses by government forces in villages sympathetic to the rebels.
They say the war has placed thousands of displaced civilians at risk by disrupting health care services and the distribution of food and medicines. "The people of Aceh could be facing a real disaster behind closed doors, Adams said. "It is time for Indonesia to open up the province to outside observers and to let humanitarian agencies do their work."
The New York-based group said that early warning signs of a humanitarian crisis had come by way of non-governmental organizations which have noted malnutrition and a shortage of water among civilians who have fled their homes during the fighting.
The statement urged UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to take up the matter with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri during her upcoming visit to the world body. It said Annan should urge Megawati to respect Indonesia's obligations to allow humanitarian relief to reach civilians. "Access to Aceh should be at the top of the international agenda with President Megawati," Adams said.
Indonesian generals initially said they would need six months to crush the rebellion, but have recently begun talking about a long war. Analysts have cautioned that the fighting could drag on indefinitely, and have criticized Megawati for lacking an exit strategy and alienating the Acehnese by relying exclusively on military force to solve the problem.