Paras Indonesia, June, 04 2006 @ 06:02 pm
Kalla, Military Oppose More Foreign Medical Staff
By: Roy Tupai
Despite complaints from aid agencies that survivors of the devastating May 27
earthquake in Yogyakarta and Central Java are lacking medical assistance, Vice
President Jusuf Kalla and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) have insisted no more
foreign medical workers are required.
Kalla on Thursday (1/1/06) said the government had decided to stop accepting foreign
medical personnel because there are already enough local and foreign aid workers to
assist those injured in the 6.3 magnitude quake that killed at least 6,234 people.
About 46,000 others were injured, 33,000 seriously. Approximately 139,000 houses
were destroyed or damaged, leaving up to 600,000 people homeless.
Although the United Nations and World Health Organization have been calling for
greater medical assistance, Kalla is adamant that Indonesia has the situation firmly
under control.
"So far the domestic and foreign medical personnel are already adequate, because
the number of quake victims treated in hospitals and field hospitals had been
declining," Kalla was quoted as saying by sate news agency Antara.
He said foreign medical personnel already stationed at field hospitals in the
quake-affected zones would continue working. "But from now on, the government
decided to stop receiving more foreign medical personnel to help the survivors."
The vice president said foreign countries should therefore focus on providing financial
assistance so those left homeless by the quake can rebuild their houses. "Much
money is needed to rehabilitate their homes and we're happy if foreign countries take
part in providing funds for the purpose."
The government has promised to provide each quake-affected family with between
Rp10 million to Rp30 million to rebuild their houses, depending on the level of
damage.
Authorities have said locals will work hand in hand to rebuild their houses without
hiring contractors. Local administrations are presently registering families with
damaged or destroyed houses and the official rebuilding effort is set to start in two
weeks. Many families have already begun rebuilding their homes without assistance.
Many families remain afraid to sleep in their damaged houses because of aftershocks
and fears of another quake.
Military
TNI spokesman Rear Admiral Muhammad Sunarto on Sunday said the military and
Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda agreed that no more foreign medical staff or
volunteers were needed as number of local aid workers is quite sufficient.
"The medical teams from within the country are enough. TNI's medical team is
sufficient to handle [the injured]," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news
portal.
He rejected complaints that TNI had been slow to evacuate the wounded and
distribute assistance. He said it is taking time to provide assistance because the
quake affected a wide area of Yogyakarta and Central Java.
"One hour after the earthquake, we mobilized the troops with all units working
together. Furthermore, the troops were deployed to several places, but we realize the
wide area of the Yogya and Central Java earthquake."
He said TNI's relief effort had been coordinated as quickly possible under the
Diponegoro Military Command, which covers the two provinces, in cooperation with
the regional and district military commands. "It's not true that the handling of the
disaster lacked coordination. It was very necessary to conduct evaluation for
optimization," he added.
Sunarto said TNI has deployed 6,418 personnel to the disaster area, with some of
them helping to restore vital transport and communications links. For example, he
said, soldiers helped to repair Yogyakarta's Adisucipto Airport and provided radio
communications in areas that been cut off.
"Transportation became a problem because it was difficult to cover the casualties
spread out across Bantul. So we also mobilized 14 helicopters every day to distribute
assistance," he said.
The rejection of further foreign aid workers hearkens back to the situation in Aceh
province after the December 2004 tsunami, when Kalla and military demanded that all
foreign military personnel providing assistance to be withdrawn by the end of March
2005. After strong criticism of the deadline, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
called for a more flexible "timeline" for the withdrawal of foreign soldiers.
While Kalla and TNI claim the situation is under control, recent news reports suggest
otherwise, with headlines such as 'New patients stream into quake-zone hospitals',
'Quake toll soars as hospitals struggle', 'Indonesia quake survivors say food, medical
care lacking' and 'Bureaucratic delays hinder quake relief'.
That said, some local aid workers complain that many foreign aid workers are
overpaid and place a drain on local resources, and the distribution of their assistance
is poorly coordinated.
The National Disaster Management Coordination Board on Saturday said the
government will provide Rp2 million ($215 dollars) to the families of each person who
died in the quake. Survivors will each be provided with 10 kilograms of rice per month,
Rp3,000 per day to buy other food, a one-off payment of Rp100,000 to buy basic
utensils and another Rp100,000 to buy clothes.
Copyright (c) 2005 - PT Laksamana Global International. All rights reserved
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