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Indonesia: Indonesia: Post-tsunami assistance risks neglecting reintegration needs of conflict-induced IDPs

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Source: Global IDP Project
Country: Indonesia

Almost half a year after the tsunami hit the shores of Aceh and North Sumatra province, killing more than 200,000 people and displacing over 500,000, assistance is now slowly shifting from a humanitarian to a rehabilitation and reconstruction phase. The massive humanitarian operation launched by the international community helped the Indonesian authorities assist the affected population with their immediate needs and prevented a further deterioration of their living conditions. With the focus now on people and areas affected by the tsunami, there is a risk that the material and protection needs of returnees and communities affected by the long-running armed conflict in Aceh and living in remote areas will remain inadequately addressed. An estimated 120,000 to 150,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) were forced from their homes between May 2003 and December 2004 by a major military operation against separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Although the majority had already returned and only a few thousand remained displaced prior to the tsunami, nearly all the displaced had experienced a severe loss of livelihood upon return and had since to struggle to survive under very difficult conditions. The GAM rebels and the government have in the last months made encouraging moves towards a negotiated settlement and are to meet again for a fourth round of talks at the end of May. The government has, however, refused to suspend its military operation and fighting is still reported in the province.

With the exception of Aceh and West Papua, where the government is fighting another separatist struggle, most of the country's former hot spots have been in a post-conflict recovery phase for over two years now. Since 2003 a large number of people have returned home or opted to settle elsewhere; for them the priority now is rebuilding their livelihoods, reconciling with old neighbours or integrating in new environments, and accessing land. Between 342,000 and 600,000 IDPs, however, remain unable to return, either because of ongoing conflicts or because of continued hostility from the ethnic/religious groups that forced them out. Considered as "vulnerable people" since the lifting of their IDP status in January 2004, many of these remaining IDPs are also still waiting for assistance to return or to resettle elsewhere. By declaring the IDP problem solved, the government is running the risk of jeopardising the transition from emergency assistance to economic recovery and undermining the reconciliation efforts undertaken in the past years. Only when this transition is successful can the empowerment, relocation or return of the displaced also be a success and their displacement end.

Background and main causes of displacement

In the wake of the financial crisis that hit Indonesia in 1998 and the fall of the Suharto regime the same year, religious and ethnic violence started to spread throughout the country. Against a backdrop of economic recession, widespread political discontent fuelled separatist aspirations. The resulting unrest saw more than 1.4 million people displaced between 1999 and 2002. The collapse of the Suharto regime triggered a process of political transition and democratic opening up that led to the election of President Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999, President Megawati Sukarnoputri in July 2001 and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in October 2004.

The root causes of displacement in Indonesia come from transmigration programmes undertaken under Suharto's rule with the stated aim of reducing demographic disparities between different regions. Supported by international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the relocation of large groups of people, often from Java to less populated areas, led to growing ethnic imbalance and land disputes (Eric Toussaint, 18 October 2004). These deepening tensions broke out into open conflicts when the political vacuum created by Suharto's fall triggered new local political aspirations and power struggles. At the national level, the army -- traditionally a key political player -- sought to assert itself during the political upheaval.

Separatist struggles in Aceh on the north-western tip of the island of Sumatra and in West Papua are conflicts rooted in the impoverishment of the local population and their perceived or real exploitation by local elites closely linked to the central government. However, transmigration programmes have also played a role in both conflicts. In Aceh, tensions between Acehnese and mainly ethnic Javanese migrants resulted in the latter group's displacement to neighbouring North Sumatra province. In West Papua, out of a total population of 2 million, 800,000 are settlers who came from Java and Sulawesi. The transfer of such a large population of a different ethnic and also religious background has created strong resentment among the local population.

Since the end of 2002, and with the exception of Aceh, Maluku and West Papua province, Indonesia has experienced relative stability; this has led to significant numbers of people returning in many parts of the country. From an estimated 1.3 million in mid-2002, the total number of displaced fell by more than 50 per cent to around 500,000 at the end of 2003. This significant reduction was mainly the result of more favourable conditions for return and a more effective implementation of the government's IDP policy issued in September 2001. Since 2004, the government has considered its IDP problem largely solved, in spite of the challenges remaining for those who have returned as well as for those who have been unable to do so. Some returns did not take place because of the continued hostility of ethnic/religious groups, others because the promised termination or empowerment grant has not been disbursed yet. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, 342,000 people remained unassisted at the end of 2004 (Komnas HAM, March 2005). An evaluation of assistance to IDPs conducted during 2004 in Indonesia concluded that the official IDP category was too restrictive and that the number of IDPs could actually be closer to 600,000 (SIDA, 7 August 2004, p. iii)

Effects of the tsunami

The tsunami that hit Aceh and North Sumatra provinces on 26 December 2004 compounded an already catastrophic socio-economic situation, wiping out entire cities and villages along the coastline, killing at least 200,000 people and displacing half a million (Government of Indonesia, April 2005, p. 1). Aceh's physical and social infrastructure, already weakened by 29 years of conflict, suffered considerable damage. Damages and losses caused by the tsunami are estimated to amount to $4.45 billion, the equivalent of 97 per cent of Aceh's GDP (Bappenas, 20 January 2004, p. iii). Prior to the disaster, an estimated 40 per cent of Aceh's population were already living below the poverty line (Laksamana.net, 29 October 2003). The Asian Development Bank estimated in early January that the disaster could plunge another million Acehnese into poverty (AFP, 13 January 2005).

On a more positive note, the tsunami forced the Indonesian government to open up the province to foreign humanitarian organisations whose presence there had been severely restricted since the beginning of a major military offensive launched in May 2003. This has allowed for a massive international humanitarian and reconstruction effort to be deployed in the province, although under the strict supervision of the military, in particular outside of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. Three months after the humanitarian operations started, the government announced on 22 March 2005 that the shift from emergency assistance to rehabilitation and reconstruction would see only a few international organisations -- those whose work is "vital to the rebuilding of the province" -- being granted the right to continue to operate in the province after 27 April 2005 (GoRI, 22 March 2005). Two months later, the government had still not taken any decision regarding the presence of international NGOs (Indonesia-Relief.org, 10 May 2005).

The tsunami also incited both warring parties to scale down their operations and return to the negotiating table. Three rounds of peace talks took place between January and April in Finland and both parties are to meet again at the end of May. In a move that could prove crucial for the success of future negotiations, the rebels announced in February their decision to drop their independence claim in exchange for self-government (Xinhua, 22 February 2005). On 18 May, the government announced the lifting of the state of emergency in the province. While the restoration of civilian rule in the province is widely seen as a positive step, the absence of any reduction in the number of troops is raising doubts that this will translate into any concrete changes on the ground, where fighting has continued unabated since the beginning of the year (Newsday.com, 2 February 2005; AFP, 17 March 2005; Forum-Asia, 5 April 2005, p. 7; AFP, 19 May 2005). Opposed to any political role that GAM could play in the future, and insisting that a military presence will be required even after a peace deal is struck, the government is yet to make the important compromises required to lead to such an agreement (Reuters, 19 May 2005).

Conflict-induced displacement in Aceh

The May 2003 military operation in Aceh had put an end to a short-lived peace agreement signed in December 2002 between the government and the GAM rebels. The agreement had raised high expectations that it could put an end to a 29-year-old conflict, which had caused some 12,000 deaths and displaced some half a million people over the previous decade. However, these hopes were dashed by the offensive, which sent the province into yet another spiral of violence, destruction and displacement, only too familiar to most Acehnese.

One year into the military operation, it was estimated that 125,000 people had been forced from their homes by the fighting and forced relocation strategies employed by the army to separate the insurgents from the civilian population (JRS, 17 April 2004). During 2004, a significant decrease in the IDP figures was reported and only a few thousands were reported to be living in the official IDP camps. The decrease continued throughout the year and only days before the tsunami hit Aceh, the International Office for Migration (IOM) reported a total of 1,800 IDPs, all of them living in camps (IOM, 20 December 2004).

It is, however, likely that these official figures failed to capture the full scope of the displacement caused by the military operation. Fear of being interrogated by the military in the camps and of losing their property and livestock prompted many displaced to avoid joining the lists of officially displaced. Instead they sought refuge in the forests, unregistered camps and with relatives (JRS, 1 August 2003/PCC-Aceh, 12 June 2003). Others fled the province to Malaysia or to neighbouring North Sumatra, although the numerous checkpoints established on the main roads between Aceh and North Sumatra since May 2003 made it reportedly extremely difficult for people to leave the conflict-affected province (Eva-Lotta Hedman, January 2004). North Sumatra province has been a flight destination for many people fleeing the Aceh conflict since 1999. Currently there are over 100,000 IDPs spread over the province with the largest concentration -- more than 60,000 -- living in Langkat district (OCHA, 9 April 2004, p.43).

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