[Kabar-indonesia] 5 Tempo 'Aceh Today' Reports: November Elections; Road to Meulaboh; USAID

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5 Tempo Magazine Aceh Today Reports (+JP/USN Mercy): 

- Favoring November for Regional
  Heads Elections

- The Road to Meulaboh 

- USAID Mission Director, 
  William M. Frej: We are 
  very active with our Aceh 
  money 

- The Waiting Game 

- Events: US Aid on Aceh 
  Reconstruction Projects;
  IOM-built Schools in Nias;
  AmeriCares

- JP: Hospital ship USN Mercy 
  on mission to Aceh, Nias 

Tempo Magazine 
No. 47/VI
July 25 - 31, 2006 

Aceh Today 

Favoring November 

IT is becoming more certain now that the direct regional heads elections 
(Pilkada) in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) will be held this year. The special 
meeting between the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) and Aceh 
Governor, the Independent Elections Commission (KIP), and the Aceh Monitoring 
Mission (AMM) last Wednesday came up with a recommendation that the regional heads 
elections in Aceh will be held in late November 2006. 

Speaker of the Aceh DPRD, Sayed Fuad Zakaria, and acting Governor Mustafa 
Abubakar, confirmed this report. Abubaker said that this election can be held on 
November 20, 2006. "We will take this proposal to a meeting. Still, we shall 
take into account the capacity of KIP, which will organize this election," 
Mustafa said. 

In this special meeting, AMM member Juha Christensen said that the term of 
duty of AMM in Aceh will expire in September 2006. Meanwhile, the central 
government has expressed its desire that the AMM can help monitor the implementation 
of this Pilkada in the post-peace pact between Indonesia and the Free Aceh 
Movement (GAM). 

In view of this request, the AMM has recommended that the ballot casting in 
the regional heads elections should be held in late November 2006 or November 
22, 2006. On these dates, the AMM can help monitor the implementation of the 
Pilkada in Aceh. 

The Aceh Governor, Aceh DPRD and the KIP have all positively welcomed this 
recommendation. Chairman of KIP, M. Jakfar said that if the election were to be 
held in November then the revision of the election qanun had to be completed 
late this month. 

Meanwhile, it is almost certain that the target for the completion of 
resident identity cards issued under the National Population Information System in 
Aceh in August 2006 at the latest cannot be reached. Up to Monday two weeks ago, 
only 22 percent of all resident identity cards for the province had been 
made. 

As the target of issuing identity cards to all eligible Aceh residents cannot 
be reached, this will be a hurdle for individual candidates wishing to join 
the race for the posts of governo, regents and municipality heads. It is 
expected, therefore, that the Aceh provincial administration find a way out with a 
proposal that the old identity cards, known as the Red-&-White identity cards 
(KTP MP), be used instead to prove the identity of residents wishing to support 
independent regional head candidates. 

"This will be the last solution. Obviously, the regional heads elections 
cannot be postponed any longer," said Abubakar, on Friday last week at the Aceh 
DPRD building. 

Indeed, whether or not the Red-&-White identity cards can be used for the 
upcoming Pilkada cannot be decided upon unilaterally as this matter must be 
coordinated with the Independent Elections Commission. 

As is known, the deadline set for the new identity cards is late August or 
mid-September. If this deadline can be met, the new cards can be used for 
Pilkada purposes, particularly to prove the support for the independent candidates. 

Indeed, the proposal to use the old identity cards will not be discussed 
until the deadline for the issuance of the new cards has expired. However, the 
Aceh provincial administration has said it will submit this proposal to KIP and 
Aceh DPRD. It seems that all parties will agree to this proposal. The most 
likely reason is that the Acehnese are very keen on electing their new and 
definitive regional heads. 

According to the data, 2,632,389 people in 21 regencies/municipalities are 
obligated to own a identity card. Of this total, 1,956,333 people have had their 
photographs taken for the card. Unfortunately, only 427,004 cards have been 
printed. The remaining 1,529,329 cards are yet to be printed, reportedly 
because the raw materials and the printing machines are yet to arrive at the 
districts. 

Only in Sabang do 100 percent of its residents now have their new identity 
cards. According to the data, only 7 percent of the cards needed for East Aceh 
regency have been printed, making this regency the lowest in terms of the 
percentage of population already issued an identity card. 

Meanwhile, the KIP said that Aceh provincial administration is yet to 
specifically discuss an option to use the Red-&-White cards for the upcoming Pilkada. 
As Aceh is still in a transitional condition it is always possible to use the 
old identity cards for regional heads elections. However, what is still 
required is a government regulation that the Red-&-White identity cards and the 
national identity cards will remain valid for an individual. A resident that 
wants to support a candidate can only use one identity card, therefore there will 
be no dual identity cards. 

Besides, the permanent schedule of when the Pilkada will be held is yet to be 
made pending the certainty about when the revision of the regional head 
elections qanun will be completed. 
 
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Tempo Magazine 
No. 47/VI
July 25 - 31, 2006 

Aceh Today 

The Road to Meulaboh 

After much delay, construction is finally underway on the vital economic road 
to Meulaboh. But problems remain, the most serious being the acquisition of 
land needed to build new sections of the tsunami-damaged road. 

THE locals call it Hell's Highway. Indeed, to motorcyclists who can still 
traverse the 240-kilometer road linking Banda Aceh to Meulaboh, the ride is often 
a hellish experience. On some parts where the road runs alongside the sea, 
the waves appear to be threatening to take over the road. But riders, carefully 
watching the water, try not to get their attention away from the road for too 
long. For it is full of deep holes: dusty in the dry season and filled with 
water when the heavy rains come. 

Danger lurks not only on the road itself, but also on the bridges. It has 
been 18 months since the tsunami hit the area in late 2004, but the emergency or 
Bailey bridge built by the army engineering unit is still in use. This Bailey 
bridge has a standard capacity of only 20 tons but trucks loaded with 
construction materials often pass it. Not surprisingly, late last month in Pulot, 
Leupung district of Greater Aceh, a truck plunged from this bridge. "Such 
accidents are bound to happen and it often disturbs the flow of traffic," said Hasbi 
Azhar, a social worker who travels the road at least twice a week. 

The December 2004 tsunami changed the face of North Sumatra's west coast 
forever, creating intense challenges of not just rebuilding coastal roads, but 
even the repair and maintenance of areas hit by excessive sear erosion, high tide 
and rain flooding. 

The length of the Banda Aceh-Meulaboh road-with more than 110 crossings-is 
the economic backbone of the region, connecting Aceh province with the rest of 
North Sumatra and Indonesia. New sections of the road must be completed to 
realign and/or replace the existing road, no longer useable due to extensive 
damage by the tsunami and land mass alterations. 

The massive reconstruction of this road is being undertaken by USAID, at a 
cost of US$245 million. "The US government wanted to make a major commitment to 
the Aceh reconstruction…and therefore, after a series of discussions with the 
Indonesian government, we wanted to rebuild the Banda Aceh road, using grant 
resources, no hard loans, soft loans, all grant," said USAID Mission Director, 
William M. Frej to Tempo in a special interview recently. 

The road reconstruction project will be done in two major phases: firstly, 
rehabilitation of the existing road and bridges along the 80-kilometer corridor 
between Banda Aceh and Lamno, including 8 kilometers of new road sections and 
secondly, design and construction of the remaining 232 kilometers of new road 
to Meulaboh. 

In the first phase of the project, USAID awarded PT Wijaya Karya a US$13.5 
million contract to initiate 40 kilometers of the road and maintain it. The 
improvements to the road have cut travel time to Lamno by half. In October 2005, 
the second phase of the project, USAID awarded Parsons Global Services, a large 
engineering US firm, US$34.9 million to design and provide construction 
supervision services along the entire road to Meulaboh. A final contract, for the 
resurfacing, rehabilitation and reconstruction, now that the design has been 
completed, is scheduled to be awarded by September 2006. 

The next step will be the hardest, as it involves the very sensitive and 
complicated process of land acquisition. Most people living along the road to 
Meulaboh actually do not object to their village roads being turned into a 
highway, so long as the government gives them adequate compensation. Samidan, 70, of 
Meunasah Masjid village, doesn't know how much his land costs, estimating that 
it ranges between Rp100,000 to Rp200,000 per square meter. "I just want what 
other villages are getting," he said. 

It's not exactly clear who is dragging their feet on this major impediment. 
The people are willing, the builders are ready. "That's one step in the process 
that we are waiting for right now," said Frej. The question is whether the 
local and regional administrations concerned, along with the Aceh Rehabilitation 
& Reconstruction Agency (BRR) are as ready and willing to commit themselves 
to this very critical and important project. -- Yuli Ismartono, Maimun Saleh 
(Banda Aceh) 
 
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Tempo Magazine 
No. 47/VI
July 25 - 31, 2006 
  
Aceh Today 

USAID Mission Director, William M. Frej: 
We are very active with our Aceh money 

How are the Acehnese responding to this road project? 

Very positive. The Acehnese view this road as most important. It has to open 
because it brings fish to market, provides ice for the fish, fuel for all 
aspects of their livelihood. They see this road as the most important construction 
underway right now. Everyone knows it's important, but the process requires 
land but it's slow.

Because they must sell their land? 

Yes. Some may have to sell their land, but that land will be more valuable 
after the road is built. We have people working on socializing and meeting with 
literally hundreds of villagers in the entire link of the road to discuss 
about the impact of the road and what will happen to their villages. The response 
has been overwhelming and positive. 

What about the local work force? 

We have 3,000 to 4,000 Indonesians working on the road construction. Right 
now there are probably 225 people working for Wijaya Karya, of whom many are 
former GAM members. So we are employing a broad base of Acehnese across the board 
to work on the road.  

And training? 

We have been funding the vocation training of Acehnese through the Chevron 
Vocational Training program in Palembang. We sent 350 Acehnese to Palembang to 
be trained in building, carpentry, boat-building, plumbing, electrical repairs 
and such skills. We are not only hiring a lot of people to work on this 
project, we are training a lot of Acehnese to be more tactically efficient in 
livelihood skills.

What about USAID's other programs in Aceh? 

We're not just building roads, we're also building houses through the 
Cooperative House Foundation, water sanitation program, livelihood programs which 
include boats for fishermen, establishing work at the village level. We are 
supporting Syah Kuala University, building new facilities for teaching training. In 
partnership with the private sector, we are building vocational training 
centers in Banda Aceh. So we are very active with our Aceh money. 

Is Aceh better today than before the tsunami? 

If there's good news about the tsunami, it's that it allowed the province to 
open up. I think it was the catalyst for the peace process to move much more 
quickly. In fact, I think it's not only Aceh province but the rest of 
Indonesia. It's like a blessing in disguise. -- Farida Sendjaja, Agustina Hariati, Ayu 
Juwita 
 
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Tempo Magazine
No. 47/VI
July 25 - 31, 2006 

Aceh Today 

The Waiting Game 

IN 1991, gunshots were familiar to my ears. The war had become part of my 
life. Almost each day they pitted against each other's strength. I had to become 
a spectator who did not know when the game would be over. I was used to 
considering the war as some sort of a game. 

That particular afternoon, I forget the date and month, such a game started 
again. I was at home with my five children. Since morning my husband was on the 
farm which was one hour on foot from the house through the jungle and over 
the hill. Usually he would come home toward nightfall, but that day I had not 
seen him although it was almost night. 

It was almost the end of the world when I heard the news. That night I was 
told my husband had been arrested in the forest by (TNI-Indonesian Military) 
troops. He was accused of being involved with the rebels (GAM-Free Aceh 
Movement), whereas as far as I knew he was not involved in any organization whatsoever. 
"We're just poor farmers, that's all." 

Six months passed. With no legal or court process, my husband was detained at 
a TNI battalion unit at Pidie regency. His right shoulder was broken due to 
severe torture during interrogation. Not proven guilty, my husband was released 
and finally he returned home. 

Months changed into years. Our lives had not changed yet. We continued to 
inhabit a shack by the edge of the Geumpang River. Our daily routines had not 
changed much either. Farming was still our chief livelihood. But now my husband 
was not as strong as he used to be due to his broken right shoulder which 
rendered him incapable of working too hard. 

The conflict still not over, TNI troops regularly mounted security 
operations. In 2002 our shack was set on fire, destroying all our property except the 
clothes we had on. All of us had to take refuge along with hundreds of other 
refugees at the Beureunun mosque in Pidie regency. 

Conflict and poverty had become my life. I was still thankful, my entire 
family was safe from the savagery of the conflict raging Aceh so far. My name is 
Raimah, 30, and my husband Sofyan, 35. We choose to live in the rural areas in 
Mane subdistrict, some 75 kilometers from the central part of the town of 
Sigli in Pidie regency. 

That is the story of the former life of Raimah and Sofyan. Today, the couple 
with five children begin to rebuild their lives which were lost during the 
past conflict. They say Aceh is already at peace. Raimah's face has begun to 
brighten again. An expression of optimism is visible on her face. The house-the 
shack-is now standing again. "We've been back here only four months," said 
Raimah. 

Earlier, Raimah said they had been forced to live with their relatives in the 
Tangse Pidie area before deciding to return to Mane. "Here we can cultivate a 
farm," said Raimah. Farming and fishing in the river had been their chief 
means of livelihood thus far. 

Just like other Aceh people who have suffered the impact of the armed 
conflict, Raimah and her family also expect humanitarian funds specially allotted for 
victims of the conflict in Aceh. Nevertheless, when she was asked about the 
matter, softly she replied, "Until now we haven't received such funds." 
Whereas, according to her, they were registered by subdistrict officials a couple of 
months ago as eligible for the Aceh conflict funds. 

Being a village woman educated only at junior high school (SMP), Raimah said 
she did not know where else to go to apply for the funds. Once Raimah inquired 
about the matter with the village chief, but she was told to wait, since the 
funds had not been disbursed from the province. Whereas, according to her, her 
neighbor had received Rp600,000 recently. 

Following the Helsinki peace accord, the government established an Aceh Peace 
Reintegration Agency (BRA) to handle the payment of funds for victims of the 
conflict. But, to date, the BRA has still been unable to accommodate every 
proposal for fund request from the communities. As a result, public proposals for 
application for such funds are piling up at the BRA. "Until now, the funds 
have not been issued yet, despite our application two months ago," complained 
Hasbi, one of the people eligible for the aid, while looking at a notice put up 
on the walls of the BRA office in Banda Aceh some time ago. 

The fact that the BRA has to do a great deal of work needs to be given 
attention by various parties, since thousands of conflict victims are now waiting 
for the financial assistance in Aceh. 

Raimah's and her family's perseverance and efforts to rebuild their lives are 
things that others need to copy. Unfortunately, Raimah continues to wait. 
"I'd like to open a kiosk if one day I get the money," said Raimah, ending her 
conversation with the writer in early July in front of her house. Her husband 
was still on the farm when it was almost nightfall, ignoring his broken right 
shoulder. The future of their five kids is still a question mark for them. -- 
Zulfikar Hajar 
 
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Tempo Magazine
No. 47/VI
July 25 - 31, 2006 

Aceh Today 

US Aid on Aceh Reconstruction Projects 

US Ambassador to Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe visited Aceh on Saturday for events 
that highlight the ongoing US partnership with Indonesia to rebuild areas 
devastated by the 2004 tsunami. 

The ambassador visited Elementary School 69, a local school participating in 
education development programs sponsored by the United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID). Ambassador Pascoe also joined Indonesian 
officials and representatives from the US private sector to dedicate the new 
Peunanyong fish market in Banda Aceh and turned over newly constructed homes to 
villagers in Geumbak Meualon. USAID Mission Director William Frej joined the 
ambassador at these events.  

Elementary School 69 is one of 40 schools in the greater Banda Aceh area 
participating in USAID's Decentralized Basic Education (DBE) and Managing Basic 
Education (MBE) programs. Schools across Indonesia are benefiting from these 
programs as part of President Bush's US$157 million initiative for education 
development in Indonesia. 

Peunayong market is the principal fish retailing market for the city of Banda 
Aceh with stalls for over 400 vendors. The reconstruction of the market was 
financed by the American Insurance Group (AIG) and implemented by CHF 
International. The market's construction uses a "Healthy Markets" concept that 
incorporates sanitation into the market's design, with such elements as heavy drainage 
troughs and a health clinic, as well as training for vendors in management 
CHF and USAID's Environmental Services Program are working together to implement 
the "Healthy Markets" program. 

The 10 houses received by villagers in Geumbak Meualon were constructed under 
the "High Impact Revitalization of the Economy in Aceh-HIRE-Aceh," program. 
USAID is the largest contributor to this program, which also funds the 
construction of markets and other livelihoods activities and is carried out by CHF. To 
date, a total of 20 houses have been completed in Geumbak Meualon. CHF 
International has begun construction on a total of 432 houses along the western 
coastal road with a goal of building a total of 1,000 homes. 

In his remarks at the housing handover, Ambassador Pascoe said how proud he 
was of the accomplishments realized through the partnership between USAID and 
CHF and noted the major contributions American companies like AIG have made 
here in Aceh and in Indonesia. "It shows how committed we all are in seeing the 
economy and people recover and grow." 

IOM-built Schools in Nias 

DOZENS of Nias children marked the first day of classes by moving into a new 
school built by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Negari (MIN) in Gunung Sitoli was one of many schools 
leveled by the earthquake. Over the past six weeks IOM replaced the demolished 
structure with a pair of three-room schoolhouses in time for the start of the 
new semester. One hundred and ten students between the ages of 7 and 15 attend 
classes at MIN. Three additional schoolhouses open on Tuesday. 

The project is part of a UNICEF-funded initiative to build 43 new temporary 
schools across the island. (Each school is comprised of up to three 
schoolhouses.) 

Thirty-nine schoolhouses are currently under construction at 22 locations 
around the island. The Nias school construction project builds upon a successful 
joint IOM-UNICEF program launched in mid-2005 that saw more than 140 
elementary schools built in tsunami-affected areas of neighboring Aceh province. 

In addition to funding construction, UNICEF provides all the necessary 
classroom materials. The schools are an adaptation of the earthquake-resistant units 
IOM employed in its temporary housing construction program. The 
Organization's construction services are now wholly focused on building permanent homes in 
more than 30 locations around Aceh. 

Profile of the Week 

AMERICARES is a US non-governmental organization founded in 1982 by Robert C. 
Macauley. As a non-profit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, 
it provides immediate response to emergency medical needs, as well as 
supporting long-term humanitarian assistance programs for all people around the world, 
irrespective of race, creed or political persuasion. AmeriCares solicits 
donations of medicines, medical supplies and other relief materials from US and 
international manufacturers, and delivers them quickly and efficiently to 
indigenous healthcare and welfare professionals around the world. 

Since its founding, AmeriCares has provided more than US$5.0 billion of aid 
in more than 137 countries. To accomplish these results, AmeriCares assembles 
product donations from the private sector, determines the most urgent needs and 
solicits the funding to send the aid via airlift or ocean cargo to health and 
welfare professionals in the indigent locations. On the ground, AmeriCares 
works with international and local NGOs, hospitals, health networks and 
government ministries of long-standing effectiveness. 

When the 2004 tsunami struck Aceh and Nias Island, AmeriCares directly 
provided aid and assistance to help the victims. In partnership with local 
organizations, AmeriCares addressed some of the most pressing needs of the recovery 
effort, including healthcare, water supply, sanitation and livelihood issues. 
Among the key completed projects supported by AmeriCares in Indonesia are the 
reopening of Banda Aceh's Provincial Health Laboratory, and the creation and 
equipment of an extensive network of satellite health clinics with IOM 
(International Organization Migration), and also the reopening of Lampulo Wholesale 
Market in Banda Aceh. 

AmeriCares has committed to funding nearly US$8 million worth of new projects 
to aid recovery in Indonesia's tsunami-affected areas of Aceh province and 
Nias Island. 
 
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The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Hospital ship USN Mercy on mission to Aceh, Nias 

photo: People sit in a waiting room in the United States Navy hospital ship, 
the USN Mercy, which is on a humanitarian mission to the country. The 
white vessel will provide free medical care for residents in Banda Aceh, 
Simeuleu, Nias, Tarakan and Kupang, then later head to Timor Leste. 

It is now in waters three nautical miles from the coast of Aceh, and will 
remain there for eight days. It is the second time that the ship has visited Aceh 
after the 2004 tsunami. 

U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, B. Lynn Pascoe, Aceh provincial secretary, 
Husni Bahri and Aceh Health Office head HT Anjar Asmara, were on hand to witness 
medical treatment on board the ship. 

At least 33 patients from Aceh, including seven from Nias, are being treated 
on the vessel, among them 17 month-old Rahmat, born without an anus, and two 
other infants who are undergoing treatment onboard the ship. 

The USN Mercy is also on a mission to provide training for Indonesian 
paramedics from the military, police as well as Aceh health workers. (JP/Nani Afrida) 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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