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Indonesia Restricts Aid Workers in Aceh

HeadlineJan 11, 2005

The Indonesian military announced yesterday that it would officially begin restricting relief workers from reaching remoter parts of the tsunami-hit province of Aceh. The army said aid workers would now be required to register to travel outside the towns of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. The head of the army, Endriartono Sutarto, admitted the restrictions could slow down relief efforts. General Sutarto told the BBC the move was necessary because he had to protect foreign aid workers from the resistance movement known as the GAM. A GAM spokesman in Aceh, told the BBC that the military was operating a smear campaign against the resistance, and stressed that GAM were Acehnese–unlike most of the military in Aceh–and that the GAM were supporting the aid effort. The military’s announcement came just hours after Indonesia’s foreign minister told the BBC that Jakarta had struck a “gentleman’s agreement” with the GAM not to disrupt aid efforts. Some analysts believe the military is attempting to use the Tsunami to launch a major offensive against the GAM.

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