[Kabar-indonesia] BRR slammed for funding Aceh military operations [+Tsunami victims]

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: Aceh tsunami victims at home in transitional shelters

The Jakarta Post
Saturday, August 12, 2006

BRR slammed for funding Aceh military operations

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) is coming under 
fire for allocating funds to security and intelligence operations by the 
Indonesian Military (TNI) in Aceh.

Rights watchdog the Aceh Working Group (AWG) said on Friday that the BRR had 
violated military laws by earmarking more than Rp 400 billion (about US$44 
million) in its 2005 budget for security operations in Aceh and Nias.

The allocation was deemed irrelevant to the BRR's primary task of helping 
Aceh recover from a devastating tsunami, especially since the funds set aside for 
military operations dwarfed those allocated for children's education and 
women's empowerment.

"All the money that the BRR received from donors should go to victims of the 
tsunami and not TNI soldiers. International donors should question this 
because their money was not used for reconstruction purposes," Choirul Anam of AWG 
said.

A document obtained by The Jakarta Post indicates that the BRR earmarked Rp 
285 billion for defense operations and another Rp 122 billion for security 
operations.

The document shows that an intelligence operation got Rp 416 million and 
strategic intelligence received Rp 1.08 billion.

A substantial amount of the money was earmarked for developing the defense 
capabilities of individual military forces in Aceh and Nias.

In total, funds allocated for security and defense make up 11 percent of the 
BRR budget for 2005. Education and children's empowerment make up less than 4 
percent.

BRR chief Koentoro Mangkusubroto has argued that the allocation of funds for 
security and defense is part of the effort to safeguard reconstruction 
projects.

AWG dismissed Kuntoro's statement, saying Aceh did not need such operations 
as it was no longer in an emergency situation.

"There are no longer threats to security in Aceh. Besides, the post-disaster 
emergency period has ended," fellow AWG activist Rafendi Djamin said.

Rafendi said problems would arise when the BRR had to account for its use of 
the funds.

"The only institution authorized to scrutinize the military budget is the 
House of Representatives. But what about the funds disbursed by the BRR, as the 
agency answers only to the finance ministry," he said, adding that such a 
breach of procedures was also vulnerable to corruption.

Responding to the criticism, BRR said what was classified as security in Aceh 
and Nias in fact was the reconstruction of military facilities that were 
destroyed by the tsunami.

"Come to Aceh now and you will see brand new barracks and offices for army 
and police personnel (to replace those) that were destroyed by the tsunami," BRR 
spokesman Mirza Keumala told the Post.

Mirza said the money for reconstructing military and police facilities was 
drawn from the state budget. "It, therefore, has won approval from the House," 
he said. 

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The Jakarta Post
Saturday, August 12, 2006

    
Aceh tsunami victims at home in transitional shelters

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Lusi was all smiles as she showed her guests around the timber house in Lhong 
Raya, Banda Aceh, where she has been living for the past 18 months.

The transitional housing was provided by the International Red Cross and Red 
Crescent (IFRC) and the Australian Red Cross, so tsunami survivors had 
somewhere secure and comfortable to stay while waiting for the construction of 
permanent homes.

"This shelter is nothing like a tent, it's more like a home. It's 1,000 times 
better than the barracks," the 24-year-old told The Jakarta Post.

The 27-square-meter steel-framed shelter has a front and back porch, where 
Lusi has placed a wooden bench and some potted flowers.

Her shelter is one of 204 units in Lhong Raya and 20,000 to be built in Aceh.

The IFRC and several implementing partners, including the Red Cross, have 
been working hard to build more than 32,000 transitional shelters across Aceh and 
Nias.

Though they were unable to meet the Aceh government's target to move all 
tsunami victims out of tents by July, the institutions have constructed some 8,300 
shelters.

But why temporary shelters?

According to Kevin Duignan, IFRC consultant and project coordinator, there 
had been a long wait for timber to arrive from New Zealand and Europe.

"We're using only imported timber and it takes 13 days to bring in imported 
timber from New Zealand and 21 days from Europe," he told The Jakarta Post.

The timber was transported on 36 ships, but only 26 of them have arrived and 
unloaded.

In its country of origin, the logs were sawn to the required measurements 
before being loaded onto the ships.

Once the timber arrived in Medan, North Sumatra, it was transported by truck 
or ferry to Aceh.

"If the weather is bad, the delivery might be delayed due to muddy roads and 
damaged bridges," Duignan said.

According to a source who asked not to be named, the trucks were often 
stopped by security officers asking for money.

"That's what happened, although we had the documentation to prove the timber 
was legally imported," the source said.

Hundreds of houses need to be built, but it is important to remember that 
building transitional housing is not the same as building permanent housing. The 
construction workers may need to be trained before the next program begins.

Sulaiman, a 50-year-old worker whose job is to put up the shelters' frames, 
said the workers had been divided into three groups in charge of the shelters' 
frames, walls and roofing.

"It takes seven days to build a transitional shelter, excluding finishing 
touches," he said.

>From the outside, the shelters look sturdy, and some occupants have put 
partitions in to form extra rooms, like bathrooms.

However, there have been complaints of roofs leaking during heavy rain.

"It's true that it's not as good as owning your own home but the transitional 
shelters are a pretty good substitute, because we have more privacy than we 
would in a tent or barracks," Lusi said. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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