Andrew Burrell, Banda Aceh – The acting governor of Aceh said yesterday he was "frightened" of being abandoned by the thousands of foreign troops and aid workers involved in the massive humanitarian mission in his tsunami-battered province.
Azwar Abubakar was responding to the Indonesian government's March 26 deadline for all foreign service personnel to leave Aceh, a move that reflects deep sensitivities over the presence of foreigners here.
The plea came as Jakarta imposed strict new restrictions on foreign aid workers in the province, claiming they were in danger from separatist rebels involved in a long-running war against Jakarta's rule.
The Indonesian military planned to send thousands more soldiers into Aceh to help relief efforts, bringing the total troop deployment there to almost 50,000, a spokesman said.
Major General Syafrie Syamsuddin said the soldiers would focus solely on humanitarian operations, initially the cleaning up of debris in towns. Asked if the soldiers would be used against separatist rebels, he said: "No, no, no, of course not."
Indonesia wants aid workers to ask permission to leave major centres and possibly to have military escorts. There are fears the restrictions could impede the flow of aid.
The moves to restrict foreign access in Aceh prompted concerns from leaders of the international relief effort, including the United Nations and United States, and come as Australia's HMAS Kanimbla arrived in Banda Aceh yesterday with another 400 Australian troops, including army engineers equipped with earth-moving equipment and landing craft. This brings the number of Australian troops in Aceh to about 900.
Mr Abubakar said in Banda Aceh he had not heard directly of the central government's plans to set a deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops. But he said he would be concerned about any plans to scale down the foreign presence.
"I am frightened of being abandoned in less than a month facing such a big disaster," he said. "I really need the long-term support from these organisations."
Foreign troops, including from Australia, the US, Japan and Malaysia, have been praised for delivering much-needed aid to isolated coastlines accessible only by sea and air.
Indonesia's welfare minister, Alwi Shihab, who is in charge of the relief effort, said yesterday that foreign troops might leave Aceh even before March 26. By that time Indonesia would be able to reach all of the affected areas via sea and land, he told Al Jazeera television.
Bambang Dharmono, the head of the military taskforce for the relief effort, said: "After the [deadline] I think Indonesia can do the job, as long as there are available funds."
World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello said the deadline could complicate work being carried out by aid agencies.
A spokesman for US President George Bush said the US would ask Indonesia for clarification on whether it wanted foreign troops to leave by March.
"Obviously, I think that we want to make sure that there is rapid and immediate relief provided to all the affected persons," a Bush spokesman said. "That remains a priority for the US as well as the international relief organisations in the area, and so we'll seek further clarification from Indonesia about what this means."
The UN said it had met Indonesian officials to see whether new restrictions on aid workers in Aceh would hinder its relief work.
World Bank president James Wolfensohn cautioned against rushing the relief effort. "I think [it will take about] a month or two or even three to fill in the details [of a comprehensive reconstruction plan]," he said. "This is not a trivial disaster."