Indonesia sets aid deadline

The international relief effort for Asian tsunami victims has run into trouble on two fronts.

The United Nations yesterday said it feared restrictions on aid workers in Aceh could hinder international relief operations in the devastated Indonesian province.

The United States also said it was seeking clarification on news that Indonesia wanted all foreign troops helping with the relief effort to leave by the end of March.
"Obviously, I think that we want to make sure that there is rapid and immediate relief provided to all the affected persons," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

"And that remains a priority for the United States, as well as the international relief organisations in the area. We'll seek further clarification about what this means."

The United Nations said it had met Indonesian officials about restrictions announced on the movement of aid workers in Aceh.

Jakarta has said it cannot guarantee the safety of foreign workers outside the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and the devastated city of Meulaboh. It has asked that they accept Army escorts if moving outside these cities.

Margareta Wahlstrom of Sweden, the deputy UN relief coordinator, met Indonesian officials to "assess the operational impacts, if any, of this announcement", said Kevin Kennedy, a senior official in the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs.

"We certainly understand there has been a conflict in Aceh for the last quarter of a century," he said.

"However, we are concerned that any requirements that would create delays or otherwise adversely reflect our operations need to be reviewed very carefully."

There was some evidence of problems in the distribution of food. Refugees in a small makeshift camp in the middle of Banda Aceh said their only rations were meals of rice and dried fish brought in daily by a group of college students.

"There is plenty of food coming in from everywhere. We see the trucks passing in the streets every day, but it is not getting out to the people who need it," said a local woman.

Jakarta's worries about a large foreign presence in a region scarred by a long-running insurgency came as the Paris Club of creditor nations announced it would freeze debt repayments of nations hit by the tsunami, releasing cash for rebuilding.

The stricken nations owe about US$272 billion altogether to the 19 Paris Club creditors.

Indonesia, the nation worst hit by the earthquake and resulting tsunami, owes about US$48 billion ($68.68 billion). It would have to pay more than US$3 billion in principal repayments alone this year - about the same amount it says it needs to recover from the crisis.

Paris club president Jean-Pierre Jouyet said it would apply to those countries that wanted to accept it but did not immediately give any details.

Thailand and India say they can cope on their own but Indonesia and Sri Lanka are most in need of help.

Not all would accept the freeze on repayment, as it could lead to higher debt servicing costs in the future.

"The Paris Club creditors don't want this suspension of payments to be subject to any conditions - neither an agreement with the International Monetary Fund nor any comparable treatment on the part of private creditors," Jouyet of the Paris Club said.

French Finance Minister Herve Gaymard said he expected Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles to take up the offer.

At least 158,600 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries were killed in the Boxing Day disaster, the most widespread natural calamity in living memory. Tens of thousands are missing and millions of people face shortages of food, clean water and shelter.

More than 106,000 died in Indonesia, 30,000 in Sri Lanka, 15,000 in India and 5300 in Thailand.

Governments across the world have promised US$5.5 billion in aid, with individuals and corporations pledging at least US$2 billion more.

However, the Asian Development Bank said two million people could fall into poverty as a result of the tsunami. The bank's report said that one million people could fall below the poverty line in Indonesia alone, mostly in Aceh.

The number of poor in India could rise by 645,000, and by 250,000 in Sri Lanka, the ADB report found.

Relief effort update

Indonesia warns foreign troops engaged in relief work to leave by March - a move apparently aimed at the United States.

The UN says Indonesian demands that aid workers need Army escorts in the countryside are hampering efforts in Aceh.

Creditor nations agree to freeze debt repayments.

- REUTERS