For Pipit Kartawidjaja the days since the tsunami hit his home country have been filled with emotion. Being far from home has not eased the pain for the Indonesian office worker who has lived in Berlin for the past 30 years. Grief has been mixed with wonder at the unprecedented international response to the disaster by governments ... read more
The Indonesian military is tightening its control over relief organizations. From now on, aid workers are only allowed to move freely in the two towns hardest hit by the tsunami disaster, Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. All activities outside these two cities require special permission and military escort. The official reason for this given by the Indonesian Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – TNI) is the imminent danger of attacks by the independence movement GAM ... read more
Other than initially reported, the exchange of gunfire on the premises used by the UN for aid distribution was most probably not a clash between members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Armed Forces. According to an eyewitness account, an Indonesian soldier snapped and opened fire for reasons so far unknown. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
The incident did, however, show very clearly the vulnerability of the international aid workers and ... read more
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