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Alert

SEAPA expresses concern over new restrictions on journalists, aid workers in Aceh

(SEAPA/IFEX) - SEAPA is dismayed by Jakarta's stated intent to restrict the movement of aid workers and journalists in Aceh. In the wake of the devastation wrought by the 26 December 2004 tsunami on the province, SEAPA said the latest statements of the Indonesian government and military run against a need to ensure transparency and access to information in Aceh.

On 13 January 2005, Indonesian leaders said they felt compelled to limit the access of foreign aid agencies, relief workers and journalists in Aceh, ostensibly because, in the face of the continuing insurgency in the province, the country's overwhelmed military could not guarantee the foreigners' safety.

News reports said the government has ordered aid workers and journalists to declare their travel plans or face expulsion from Aceh. Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said even foreign troops should be out of the country by 31 March.

While aid agencies have expressed concern over what impact the new policies would have on the efficiency of international relief efforts, SEAPA added that the restrictions in movement would further add to those concerns, as information about the calamity and assistance programmes become harder to come by.

SEAPA noted that among the more than 100,000 who perished in Aceh due to the tsunami were a number of local journalists. The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Indonesia confirmed the deaths of three of its members. At least 18 more Aceh-based reporters remain unaccounted for.

SEAPA said the presence of journalists and ensuring access to information in Aceh help not only in letting the community and the world make sense of the 26 December tragedy; this also ensures transparency and improves efficiency as assistance and billions of dollars in aid pour into Indonesia.

"The people of the world not only have concern and sympathy for the Acehnese. They also have a right to know how far and how well their charity and assistance are reaching the intended communities," SEAPA Executive Director Roby Alampay said. "In this light, ensuring transparency and continued access to information is as vital to this historic effort as any assistance brought by international relief workers and agencies."