Monday, January 5, 2004

Aceh Aid 1-5-2004

5, January 2004                         Aceh Aid
Nearly 100,000 people have died in Aceh from the devastation caused by the tsunami. It is tragic that the corrupt Indonesian military is using this enormous human tragedy to divert aid money and continues to persecute and harass the people of Aceh. The army insists that people seeking help must produce an identity card. These were issued during martial law as symbols of 'loyalty'. During this period of utter repression, aid workers, and all foreigners were forbidden access to Aceh during which time the military killed and tortured thousands of civilians whose only crime was to seek independence from their oppressors. It is especially tragic that prior US administrations put profit ahead of principle and trained and supplied billions of dollars of military hardware to the Indonesian government. The poor people of Aceh have been cursed by the presence of the largest gas fields in the world which should have brought wealth and a decent standard of living. Alas, Exxon-Mobile has siphoned off billions of dollars of profit and is now being sued for gross human rights violations. Acehnese refugees and human rights activists have urged potential donors not to send aid money to Indonesia but instead send donations to human rights groups such as the East Timor Action Network or Tapol, the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign. President Bush has again displayed his utter lack of compassion and concern by remaining silent for the first 72 hours of this great tragedy and is now attempting to make political hay by sending his brother, father and President Clinton. Both Bush senior and President Clinton ignored the plight of the people of Aceh during their Presidential terms. It is extremely disquieting that General Colin Powell announced that the US is planning to resume supplying the Indonesian government with helicopters and other military equipment which was suspended for a number of years following the genocide in East Timor and Acheh. I would request concerned readers to contact their legislative representatives to demand a continued embargo of all military equipment to the Indonesian government.


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