NZ defence staff prepare for Indonesia pull out

BANDA ACEH- The New Zealand medical team in tsunami devastated Banda Aceh is preparing to withdraw from the region ahead of a Government announcement about New Zealand's military presence in Indonesia.

Senior officers based at Banda Aceh's hospital are refusing to comment, but a full handover of the hospital to local control and a farewell parade are scheduled later today, with the 32-strong team hoping to fly to Jakarta on Monday.

Prime Minister Helen Clark is also likely to announce the return of the Hercules crew, currently based in Jakarta for relief work.

Medical team staff in Banda Aceh told NZPA their work was largely done in restoring the damaged hospital and as more local medical staff returned to work it was time for the Australian-led medical relief effort to hand over day to day operations.

The Australian medical team also believe they are being sent home -- on February 28 -- although other countries are planning to maintain a military presence at the hospital into the foreseeable future.

The pullout by the medical team comes a day after a security alert about non-specified threats of attacks on military installations in the area. But a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade official said the withdrawal was not related to that warning.

Recently the Indonesian government said it wanted foreign military forces on its soil to leave by February 26 -- two months after the tsunami devastated the north west Sumatran province and wreaked destruction across countries fringing the Indian Ocean.

It was widely reported they were setting a deadline to ensure its military regained tight control of the region, which until the disaster had been closed to foreigners due to fighting between local separatists and the Indonesian army.

The local government later clarified that it was only intended as a timeline for withdrawal as aid needs in the region changed from emergency relief to reconstruction.

The New Zealand withdrawal also follows a prominent Indonesian-language newspaper criticising the Anzac presence at the hospital as inappropriate and said local medical teams should be in control.

But New Zealand medical officers told NZPA the criticism was unfair.

"When the Australians first arrived there was virtually no staff to run the hospital and few people to clean it up. Now staff are returning it is time for us to move on," one medic said.

After the tsunami struck -- when the first New Zealand staff arrived -- the grounds were a cesspool of mud, debris and rubbish.

Only a handful of the hospital's 350 doctors were at work, still stunned at the destruction at the hospital, just 3km from the coastline.

It is believed the more than half of them died in the tsunami.

Most wards are now open and in addition a large military hospital is operating in its grounds.

There is still mud, but the smell of rotting rubbish and bodies is gone.

"We came, we saw, we cleaned, we go home," one New Zealand infantryman said.

The return of the medical team, which only arrived a fortnight ago, to replace the initial deployment, is likely to coincide with the return of the air force's Hercules.

The majority of the Hercules crew are also a replacement team, but some have served right through the tour of duty, an indication of a shortage of personnel.

The Hercules was in heavy demand during its first week of operation as a flood of aid overwhelmed the ability of most agencies and local infrastructure to deliver it to those in need.

Its high work rate led to several breakdowns, that air force say the demand for its services have now reduced as civilian aid agencies got into gear and more aid was channelled through the northern Sumatran city of Medan.

The move from military assistance to civilian aid is evident throughout Banda Aceh with a multitude of aid workers now on the ground.

The main roads running into Banda Aceh are almost back to normal, but in the areas close to the coast and off the main roads heavy machinery is still working to clear the debris off the streets.

Between 500 and 750 bodies are still being recovered every day, with some estimating the local death toll will exceed 200,000.

* Ian Llewellyn is in Indonesia with the assistance of the Asia 2000 Foundation.

- NZPA