Here’s an example of a government’s ideology blocking relief to its own people — and an answer to the eternal question: How do you spell "Idiocy?" (Answer: G-o-v-e-r-n-m-e-n-t o-f I-n-d-o-n-e-s-i-a):
Indonesia told foreign troops helping tsunami victims to get out of the country soon and defended tough new restrictions on aid workers, while rich nations prepared to freeze Jakarta’s debt repayments.
Vice President Yusuf Kalla said foreign troops should leave tsunami-hit Aceh province on Sumatra island as soon as they finish their relief mission, staying no longer than three months.
"Three months are enough. In fact, the sooner the better," Kalla was quoted by the state Antara news agency as saying.
AHA! So Mr. Kalla is an authentic PSYCHIC who knows that in three months foreign troops will not be able to help alleviate his people’s unprecedented suffering. Could we suggest this: the sooner Mr. Kalla is gone from his government…"the better"? But we digress:
The armed forces of Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States have all rushed task forces to Aceh in the wake of the December 26 disaster which killed at least 106,500 Indonesians out of a total of more than 159,000 deaths in Asia.
Yes, it sure sounds like three months will rap this all up, to be sure.. More:
United Nations officials struggling to coordinate a massive relief operation have welcomed their participation, particularly to deliver aid to isolated coastlines accessible only by sea or air.
But their presence in Indonesian territory has been a sensitive issue for the world’s largest Muslim-populated nation which has traditionally kept foreign military, particularly the United States and Australia, at arm’s length.
The vice president said Aceh in the near future would need foreign medical workers and engineers instead of military assistance.
"Foreign troops are no longer needed," he said.
Kalla’s comments came after the country’s military imposed sweeping new restrictions on foreign relief workers operating in Aceh, claiming they were in danger from rebels waging a long-running separatist war.
But an Indonesian doctor whose ordeal at the hands of rebels has been used to justify the government restrictions disputed the official version of the incident.
Mulia Hasyimi, the head of Aceh’s health office, confirmed he was seized by the rebels, but told AFP he was not shot and his time in captivity lasted less than an hour, contrary to government claims he was reputedly held for several days and shot.
Analysts have said they believe the government move was an attempt to reassert the military’s control over the province, an accusation the government has denied.
Oh. Well, Mr. Kalla, we KNOW you read The Moderate Voice and hang on our every word (we will resist a line we were going to add here as tasteless), but guess what? We believe THAT is the real reason you want the foreign troops out: for political and military reasons. So what if some of your population dies or suffers incredibly. What does it matter unless you have total control? (We feel your pain.)
Senior officials said foreign journalists would also be confined to major towns in the province, closing a post-disaster window of press freedom in the region which was locked down almost two years ago during a military offensive.
Indonesian troops have already begun accompanying United Nations missions to help victims of the tsunami and liaison officers are to be posted on the scores of foreign navy ships and military and civilian aircraft bringing in thousands of tonnes of emergency supplies.
Despite statements from Free Aceh Movement rebels, known as GAM, pledging the safety of volunteers, Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab said the government was concerned attacks on aid staff could scare off foreign assistance.
Doesn’t make sense. So you’re afraid foreign assistance is going to scared off…so you ORDER off those who help deliver the foreign assistance?
The emergency phase of the tsunami relief effort in Aceh is not moving fast enough and is likely to last three more months, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s special humanitarian envoy said Wednesday.
But this is a FIRM DEADLINE that Mr. Kalla issued for his starving, suffering, potentially disease-infected refugee population.
He KNOWS what is right since he considered this issue carefully as he reclined in his posh office, eating his country’s top cuisine before heading back to his beautiful home that wasn’t hit by the tsunami.
Margareta Wahlstrom said relief work was progressing at a comparable pace to other tsunami-hit countries, given that the scale of destruction in Indonesia was so much greater, but that was still not fast enough.
Wahlstrom said she remained concerned with inadequate coordination among all groups taking part in the relief effort.
"There are a lot of resources, many organisations here. What we have to do is ensure better interfacing. That’s our priority. Things need to move a little faster," she said.
However she said new government regulations imposed on foreign aid workers and journalists in Aceh province were not impeding the relief effort.
"I don’t see these as restrictions. They are not saying you cannot go. They are saying, let us know when you go," Wahlstrom said.
And they’re saying go…fast…in three months…no matter what.
Can’t the UN foreign troops and the UN get their priorities straight??
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.