Aceh elections: Djakarta faces closer scrutiny of Aceh reconstruction
December 13th 2006 21:51
- Irwandi Yusuf (BBC pic) -
A former Aceh-separatist (GAM) leader, Irwandi Yusuf, is the likely Governor-elect as a result of Aceh's first elections which were held this week. According to two separate election monitoring groups, Irwandi is set to win easily, said a BBC report.
In her 12 Dec 06 report "Aceh votes for major change", BBC reporter Lucy Williamson acknowledged that Aceh's elections stemmed directly from the world aid spotlight put on Indonesia's northern-most province after 2004's Boxing Day tsunami devastated far inland along the Indian Ocean coastline.
The world's press covered the election result but only one, a Chinese news agency, picked up on the growing Aceh discontent with the Jakarta-led reconstruction progress.
Bachtier Abdullah, another former GAM leader and candidate in the elections, rejected the reason that NGOs and the BRR have been giving for the slowness in Aceh reconstruction - problems of land availability due to issues over title.
The 11 Dec 06 Xinhua report quoted Bachtier Abdullah: "We see many refugees of the tsunami live in barrack after nearly two years.
"How could this happen, while the international donation keeps coming to Aceh?
"As the agency was set up by Jakarta, so Jakarta must fix it."
The report noted that BRR got vandalized recently by dwellers from barracks and tents demanding a faster pace of reconstruction. Also, that two BRR officials have been under prosecutor investigation for corruption charges.
Indonesian Information Minister Sofyan Djalil deflected criticism of BRR's managerial capacity, insisting that land ownership was still the main reason.
Bachtier Abdullah rejected land ownership as the reason for the slowness and said the capacity of the BRR must be improved to accelerate the implementation of programs.
Xinhua report "Aceh relief work far from expectation," 11 Dec 06
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