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Media Release

U.S. Groups Urge Indonesian Government to Put People over Politics

Humanitarian Catastrophe Adds to Human-Created Destruction in Aceh

Contacts:
Michael Beer, NI, 202-244-0951 (w), 703-875-9482 (h)
Karen Orenstein, ETAN, 202-544-6911 (w), 202-319-1711 (h), karen@etan.org
Bama Athreya, ILRF, 703-328-1964 (cell)

December 30 -- U.S.-based groups with a long record of experience in the
region today called on the Indonesian government to not let politics
override the needs of people in tsunami-stricken Aceh. The groups include
the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), International Labor Rights Fund
(ILRF) and Nonviolence International (NI). Contact information for experts
on the region available for interview is listed at the end of this advisory.

"Delays by the Indonesian government in allowing international access to
Aceh may have needlessly cost precious lives. The government's apparent
opening of Aceh must continue. The government must cut through its
bureaucratic red tape so aid can get through as quickly as possible.
International and Indonesian organizations must have unrestricted access to
Aceh. International media must be free to report on conditions and relief
efforts. Strict limits on internationals' time in Aceh must be lifted,"
said Michael Beer of NI.

"Politics must not be allowed to override the needs of the Acehnese people
in this tragic time," he added.

As many as 100,000 people may have been killed in the Indonesian provinces
of Aceh and North Sumatra as a result of an earthquake and tsunami that
struck the region on December 26. The government initially kept the
international community at bay as it apparently debated whether to open
Aceh up to foreigners. The province had been almost entirely closed to any
international presence due to military operations there. The Indonesian
government's response remains slow and uncoordinated.

The groups urged aid organizations and agencies to work as closely as
possible with local civil society groups and to resist Indonesian
government and military attempts to close non-governmental local groups out
of the process.

"The high level of corruption in Indonesia, especially in Aceh, and the
great distrust of Aceh's central government make it crucial that aid groups
be allowed to distribute urgently needed food, medical supplies, and other
assistance outside of government channels, distributing aid directly and
through local NGOs," said Karen Orenstein of ETAN.

ETAN, ILRF, and NI further urged the government of Indonesia to allow
Acehnese outside of Indonesia -- many of whom fled political repression --
to return to Aceh, if they so choose, to seek their relatives and loved
ones and assist the relief effort. Their return should take place without
burdensome visa restrictions and without repercussions.

Finally, the groups pointed out that this tragedy caused by natural
disaster comes on top of an already devastating human-created tragedy.
Since May 2003, more than 2000 people, most of them civilians, have been
killed in Aceh while the province was under marital law and then a civil
emergency. During a previous period of martial law from 1989 to 1998 some
10,000 Acehnese perished. Despite the humanitarian catastrophe, there are
still reports of ongoing military operations against Acehnese rebels.

"We are gravely concerned about reports of cease-fire violations by the
Indonesian military, who are allegedly attacking Acehnese guerillas instead
of focusing on the humanitarian disaster," said Bama Athreya of ILRF.

"The world must not forget that the people of Aceh have suffered massive
human rights violations due to years of Indonesian military repression and
guerilla operations by the Free Aceh Movement. Until very recently, the
Indonesian government and armed forces had virtually sealed Aceh from any
foreign presence. The ceasefires declared by the Acehnese guerrillas and
the Indonesian government this week are a crucial first step. All sides to
the decades-long conflict in Aceh must redouble efforts to find a peaceful
solution that strongly involves civil society," continued Athreya.

Two U.S.-based grassroots relief funds have been established for the
earthquake/tsunami disaster in Aceh: Nonviolence International-USA,
www.nonviolenceinternational.net and East Timor Action Network, www.etan.org.

Funds raised by these groups will be sent directly to grassroots Acehnese
humanitarian agencies and groups to save lives and relieve suffering. Both
have the full backing of the expatriate Acehnese community in the U.S.

For interviews and other inquiries, media are advised to contact the
following U.S.-based experts on Aceh:

Riva Syamsuddin, Acehnese activist and graduate of Syah Kuala University.
Contact: 703-503-5272

Munawar Zainal, Acehnese student activist with the Acheh Center in
Pennsylvania. Contact: 717-343-1598, warzain@yahoo.com

Allan Nairn, award-winning independent journalist who has spent much time
in Aceh, Indonesia and East Timor in the last few years. Contact:
917-345-8020, anairn@aol.com

Michael Beer, director of Nonviolence International (NI). The NI office in
Banda Aceh was destroyed and several staff members remain missing. Beer has
been a frequent visitor to Aceh over the last 5 years. Contact:
202-244-0951, 703-875-9482, nonviolence@igc.org

Patrick McInnis, former staff in Aceh for Peace Brigades International and
Oxfam. McInnis served with the Carter Center as an election observer in
Aceh in October and is proficient in the local Acehnese language. Contact:
831-484-1318

ETAN advocates for democracy, justice and human rights for East Timor and
Indonesia.

The ILRF is a Washington, DC-based human rights advocacy organization which
has long been active on behalf of labor rights in developing countries and
which has brought suit against Exxon Mobil under the Alien Tort Claims Act
for aiding and abetting torture and crimes against humanity in Aceh.

NI-USA is located in Washington, DC. Our affiliate in Aceh is the Peace
Education Program that teaches conflict resolution and nonviolence to
Islamic clerics and youth. NI serves as a resource center for nonviolent
movements around the world.

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