Relief organizations said yesterday that Indonesia's demand that foreign aid workers take army escorts to tsunami-stricken Aceh Province would create bottlenecks in aid delivery and blur the lines between the military and humanitarian efforts.
Rich creditor nations, meanwhile, offered to halt repayments on billions of dollars owed by tsunami-hit nations. Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles expressed initial interest in the Paris Club's proposal, but Indonesia's foreign minister voiced concern yesterday that accepting the offer might hurt the country's credit rating and that it preferred grants instead.
PHOTO: AFP
Relief groups reported having no security problems in Aceh, where rebels have fought a low-level separatist war against government troops for three decades, and some worried that the new restrictions could harm their reputation for independence.
"We discourage such actions because it blurs the distinction between humanitarian and military efforts here," said Eileen Burke of Save the Children.
Rebel leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a ceasefire they declared hours after the Dec. 26 earthquake that sent killer waves fanning out across the Indian Ocean, killing more than 150,000 people in 11 nations. Indonesia's vice president yesterday welcomed the ceasefire offer.
"Indonesia will also make efforts toward it," Jusuf Kalla said at the vice presidential palace.
Indonesia's moves -- which include an order that aid workers declare their travel plans or face expulsion -- highlight its sensitivities over foreign involvement in the humanitarian effort, especially that of foreign troops from the US, Australia, Singapore, Japan and other countries. The security measures represent an effort by the government to regain control of Aceh and the disaster zone along Sumatra island's western coast, where more than 106,000 people were killed and entire towns and local government infrastructure wiped out.
Before the disaster, the military controlled Aceh with a tight grip and foreigner journalists and aid workers were barred. Widespread rights abuses were reported. The Indonesian government says it wants the foreign troops to leave the country by late March.
Also see stories:
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS