indonesian_open press release on tour of Aceh by Ed Aspinall

[wendy]

Dear colleagues, below is a press release on the visit to Aceh by Inside
Indonesia Board member and Sydney University
academic Dr Ed Aspinall, which may be of interest to you. Selamat membaca,
Wendy


Wendy Miller
Promotions Officer
Inside Indonesia
PO Box 1326
Collingwood Vic 3066
tel 61 3 9419 4504 fax 61 3 9419 4774
admin at insideindonesia.com
www.insideindonesia.org



Press release - Thursday 3 February 2005



First the tsunami and now the wave of humanitarianism



While foreign aid to the tsunami-devastated Indonesian province of Aceh is
meeting the immediate physical needs for many, flaws in the relief effort
are becoming apparent, according to Inside Indonesia magazine's Dr Edward
Aspinall.



Dr Aspinall, who lectures at University of Sydney and has just returned from
Aceh, said a dual economy has already developed in Aceh, particularly for
transport and building rental. "International staff are reportedly paying up
to Rp1 million a day to rent accommodation which is what it would have cost
for a month pre tsunami."



Local relief groups such as Forum LSM (NGO Forum) are also frustrated in
their dealings with international agencies that seek information from them
and in return poach the shrinking pool of local knowledge staff with offers
of high wages.



For many tsunami survivors, however, uncertainty about the future stems from
fears the Indonesian military will again try to close down Aceh, said Dr
Aspinall.



"Everyone thinks that there will be a massive scrabble for reconstruction
money among politically-connected businessmen and military-linked
businesses," he said. "They see the foreign presence as a means of reducing
opportunities for siphoning off aid money as well as keeping open the window
of democracy."



Dr Aspinall said there was also growing concern that local communities will
have little say in rebuilding their towns and villages. "Some of the NGO
activists worry if they don't act fast the government and international
agencies will control the reconstruction process and the local communities
will be left out," he said.



Dr Aspinall, who has been researching the politics of Aceh for a number of
years, toured Aceh with legal aid staff in January and worked as a
translator for international medical personnel treating tsunami victims.



His diary of the three weeks he spent in Aceh will be published in the next
issue of Inside Indonesia, an independent quarterly magazine published in
Melbourne and distributed world-wide. Contributors include academics,
journalists and NGO activists from Australia and Indonesia. Aceh was the
theme of the most recent issue edited by Dr Aspinall and published in
December 2004.





Dr Ed Aspinall: tel 0409 091768, bus 61-2-9036 9512
edward.aspinall at arts.usyd.edu.au



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