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AKUI - AKSI KEMANUSIAAN UNTUK INDONESIA HUMANITARIAN ACTION FOR INDONESIA Editors: Lea Pamungkas, Lily
Djojoatmodjo, and Evi Savitri Editorial Note The ambitious Indonesian relocation program of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has become our concern. The Secretary-General's Special
Representative on IDPs stated that in the Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement, Principle 28 Article 1 stipulates that "Competent authorities have the primary duty and responsibility
to establish conditions, as well as provide the means, which allow
internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence, or
to resettle voluntarily in another part of the country. These authorities
shall endeavour to facilitate the reintegration of returned or resettled internally displaced persons". Further,
Article 2 reiterates "Special efforts should be made to ensure the full
participation of internally displaced persons in the planning and management of their return or resettlement and reintegration". To our knowledge, both articles have, so far, been ignored. Facts show
that often, the IDPs refused to return to their place of origin because they
feel unsafe. In some cases that new locations were appointed, these were also
rejected when the IDPs were not informed of the location. There were earlier
reports that the natives of some locations were also evicted. The relocation
plan that has a budget of one billion rupiahs, aimed to respond to the
immediate need of the refugees. However, it gives openings to other problems,
particularly corruption. There have been cases of data manipulation on the number of IDPs. It is distressful that some people, government officials in
particular, make big businesses out of the IDP's sufferings. We hope to call the attention of
international bodies to take up the issue. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Indonesia: a compulsive
relocation The Indonesian people enter yet another crises. Already being hit by
the economic crisis in the last four years, a huge wave of dismissal will
take place in the formal sector in the beginning of this year. It is
estimated that 1.4 million people will be laid off, in addition to the present number of 36 million. In general, the situation in other sectors is
still far from being recovered. At the end of 2001, violence continued in various forms and for
various reasons. In addition to Aceh, Maluku, North Maluku, West Kalimantan,
Central Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara and Papua, physical violence has also
taken place again in Poso in Central Sulawesi. Because of this, a UNICEF report calls Indonesia the most
violent nation in the world in the year 2000. The logical result of this
violence is the increasing number of IDPs now estimated at 1.4 million spread
over 19 provinces. Compared to the 415,000 IDPs in 1999, the number more then
tripled over the last 24 months. As reported by UNICEF last December, one
third are children who urgently need food, health and education assistance. If a peaceful solution will not be realised soon, the number of IDPs
will continue to increase. In an effort to reduce these violent conflicts,
the Indonesian Government has dispatched as many as 50 joint battalions of
army and police units to the conflict areas, in particular to Aceh and Papua. According to the Coordinating Minister
for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudoyono, the purpose of
this is to accelerate a peaceful process. He added that this is the largest operation in Indonesian military
history that involves 40% of the total capacity of the army and police
forces. He stressed that while Aceh and Papua get priority attention, the other conflict areas such as Maluku, North Maluku,
Central Sulawesi and West Kalimantan will also be responded upon. Laode Kamaludin, a member of the People Congress (MPR), said after his
talk with Vice President Hamzah Haz, that it is now the time to develop an
economic reconciliation between the IDPs and the local inhabitants. According
to him, the IDPs have four main problems to deal with. These are shelter,
healthcare, recovering from the traumatic experiences, and confronting
competition with the local population. He further said that the Vice
President would deal with the refugees in Maluku, North Maluku, Sulawesi and Kalimantan while
the President would handle those in Aceh and Papua. The Indonesian government aimed to solve the IDPs problem by 2002. In
September 25, 2000, the Indonesian government launched a national policy to
deal with the IDPs with the aim of bringing back the refugees to their normal
circumstances and making them self-sufficient. This policy included
repatriating the refugees to their place of origin, empowering them in their
camps (if repatriation is not possible), and relocating them either by
joining the transmigration projects or by opening new settlements. Relocation of the IDPs In the midst of overall unrest, the government decided to relocate 1.3
million IDPs from December 17, 2001 to the end of 2002. This relocation project
would start after the end of the fasting month. According to the Minister of
Social Affairs, Bachtiar Chamsyah, the government allocated a budget of 1
billion rupiahs for this purpose. Thus, this project will not be a burden to
the national budget in the next fiscal year and will overtake the increasing
poverty that resulted from the phenomenon. He added that the refugees would
be relocated to safe areas where the refugees and their family can live
peacefully and can work for their life. He shared that about 5,000 households from refugee camps in Medan
would be relocated to an oil-palm plantation in Riau. About 20,000 refugees
in Poso, Central Sulawesi will be placed in Palu. Moreover, tens of thousands
of refugees from Sampit, Central Kalimantan, who are presently sheltered in
Madura, will be brought back to their places of origin. As well, thousands of
refugees from North Maluku who are at present accommodated in North Sulawesi
will be brought back to their homes, together with other refugees from Maluku. The solution to the refugee issue is three-pronged. The first is repatriation to their place of origin, when there is no objection from
the local population. The second is relocation to a new area in accordance with their wishes. And the third is especially for
the East Timorese with the solution to repatriate them to their country of
origin. The Minister hoped that all of the refugees can settle properly and work to improve their well-being. West and Central Kalimantan The Voluntary Family Planning and Living Standards Coordinating Body's
(BKKBN) September 2001 report stated that there are 10,676 refugees in
Sambas, 18,872 in Pontianak districts, and 39,741 in Pontianak City, which
make a total of 68,874 internal refugees or about 2,450 families in West
Kalimantan. Relocation activities in Sambas started last July 2001 with the 136 families from GOR Pangsuma and Asrama Haji transferred to a new site
in Tebang Kacang. Twenty others will be moved to Parit Haji Ali. This
transfer was kept secret from the outside world and even from the other
refugees in the camp. The military (TNI) and the police (PolRI)force escorted
and secured the transport. The relocation of the refugees of the Sambas riots from Pontianak City
was not a choice for the refugees to make. The choice was made for them. The
refugees refused the idea when the West Kalimantan government officials
announced their plan to transfer them. This refusal was not without reason.
The Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights KomNasHAM)has spread the
news that Tebang Kacang, Sungai Asam, nor Kuala Parit is not worth moving in
- the houses are not only of bad quality but are not at all liveable, the
lands are not suitable even for minimal agriculture activities, and that
public facilities are scarce. Last year, AKUI met some of the refugees in camps around Pontianak
when they revealed their concerns on the relocation policy. They referred to
the unsuccessful relocation of the riots refugees from Sanggau Ledo to Sambas
in 1996. It was right after the riots in Sanggau Ledo that the local
government - barely prepared - removed the Madurees to a Malay camp that
resulted in a new conflict between the two ethnic groups in 1998. In addition, some volunteers from these camps informed AKUI that the
plan to move the Madurees refugees to Tebang Kacang camp was earlier rejected
by the Dayak chieftain and community. Their reason was the unresolved
discords between the Dayaks and the Madurees in the area. It was also
reported that there were protests from the Bugis and the Malays to use Tebang
Kacang camp as their new location. Other information received from the Sambas riots refugee camps
mentioned that the West Kalimantan government made no significant approach to
the refugees, or effort to understand their disapproval of the relocation
plan. The local government's plan to relocate the refugees - mostly Madurees
- was not unproblematic. The community living in the target locations refused
their entry. The Madurees in Ketapang, for example, denied people of the same
ethnic group from Sambas, concerned that their arrival would intrude upon
their peaceful existence. In line with the relocation of internal refugees in Pontianak, the Indonesian government has repatriated Madurees from Central Kalimantan
to Madura since last December. The target is to finish the operation by March
2002. The process is done in phases. First, the Central Kalimantan government is introducing a new law on
demography. Secondly, the government is gathering data on locations and
whenever necessary, freeing some lands that can be use as safe haven for the
refugees. Thirdly, returning the refugees in stages. Aceh The internal refugees from Aceh are spread over in Sumatra and Java. Until
September of last year, the North Sumatran government has recorded 36,252
refugees, mostly of ethnic Javanese, in Medan. This number increases daily,
which now becomes problematic for the local government. Their stay in East
Aceh was a result of an earlier government relocation program to solve the overpopulation in Java. Due to the ongoing armed conflict in the region, they were compelled
to leave their belongings, lands, and agriculture business. They revealed
that they were forced to seek refuge due to intimidations by armed civil
movements. As they said, "They do not want us to stay here in Aceh. We
have been forced to leave at gunpoint. The choice to stay alive can only be
made if we take off our feet from Aceh. So we are resolute in our decision
not ever to return to that area. "Their unwillingness to return to Aceh was because it could cost their lives. But going back to their place of origin in Java offers
them nothing as well as they do not possess anything there anymore. Their
only hope was laid on the government's consideration to assign them a piece of land elsewhere so that they can start anew as farmers. Refugees from Aceh could also be found in various cities in Java such
as in Kendal, Boyolali, and Ambarawa in Central Java. Mostly Javanese, they
escaped from Aceh due to the escalating violence. It was reported that some
14 families left their temporary shelter in Kendal and Boyolali for a new
home in Palembang in mid October 2001. The relocation was facilitated by two
cooperating NGO's - Ambarawa's KKPP and the Palembang's LSM Bodronoyo. The Moluccas Until recently, the Moluccas government has not succeeded in providing
details on the number of IDPs from the Ambon and North Moluccas riots.
However, it was reported that the IDPs from these areas who left for
Papua/Irian Jaya - spread out in Sorong and Jayapura cities, and in the districts of Sorong, Jayapura, Biak
Numfor, Yapen Waropen, Manokwari,Nabire, Fakfak,Timika, and Merauke -
totalled to 17,000 until last December. At least 3,387 families (11,762 Javanees refugees) returned to their
place of origin in East, Central and West Java. However, about 12,000
refugees (2,900 families) still have to return to Halmahera. The marine
warship KRI Teluk Langsa is due to relocate 312 internal refugees (151
families) from the Moluccas to North Moluccas. There are 1,334 families who
are reportedly still in camps in the Halmahera area. For 2001, the Indonesian government allocated 4.2 billion rupiahs to
help the refugees of the Moluccas province riots take temporary shelters in
Papua/Irian Jaya province. The head of the Social Service Office of
Papua/Irian Jaya province, Ones Ramanday, informed the press that his office uses the budget to provide the
Moluccan refugees in the area with basic living needs as rice, oil, salt, and
instant noodles. His office is currently enlisting those who express their desire to
return to their old dwellings in the Moluccas and North Moluccas. The second
phase is to raise funds to finance the relocation plan as well as providing
shelters to those who intend to stay in Papua. For the latter, Ramanday
added, it is necessary to appoint a place for their new domicile. Bitung City's Vice Mayor Cornelis Supit reported that the city is free
from the North Moluccan's refugees since December 2001. The local governments
of North Moluccan, North Sulawesi, and Bitung City agreed that all refugees
in the camps be returned to their places of origin. The refugees accepted the
relocation plan, according to Supit, after the local government in Malut
province and its security forces assured them of their safety. The relocation
was dealt with the cooperation of the Indonesian marine forces (TNI-AL) and
related bodies. Supit stated that they have given shelter to the IDPs for
three years in various locations around the city. However, there were about 600 refugees (180 families) who did not want
to be relocated and wished to stay in Bitung City. "The Bitung City
government shall never refuse any one who wishes to be a resident here.
Consequently, they are no longer refugees and that they have to be
self-sufficient in terms of finding lodgings", he added. In Bitung district, there are still six million refugees from Malut located in several camps as in Manembo-nembo. In 1998, when there were
riots in the other province, the number of refugees in Bitung reached a total
of 16,000. Most of them have returned to their village in Malut. Poso Since the uprising in the area on 25 December 1998, many people from Poso
have taken refuge in the surrounding cities. The Central Sulawesi Social
Services Office reported that until now they are providing accommodation to
27,000 Poso refugees in Palu City only. There are 25,000 others located in various camps. The municipal office facilities are still
used as emergency shelters in Poso City and in the surrounding villages.
Another 15,000 are found in various temporary reception camps in Donggala,
Ampana, Kolonodale, and Gorontalo districts/villages. The Governor of North Sulawesi A.J. Sondakh, during the end of the
year press conference in Manado, told the audience that his sources reported
that the number of refugees in Poso in Manado City has reached a total of
27,000 - a number that he would have to confirm still. * This publication has been made possible with the cooperation of
NOVIB. AKUI- Aksi Kemanusiaan untuk Indonesia Humanitarian Action For Indonesia Postbank : 741548 Kvk. 3410743 Address: Indonesia House Jacob van Lennepkade 255, 1054 ZS Amsterdam, Tel.: 020-7774949,
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