When we bitch about "Indonesians", we should distinguish between the people and the government.
The people, I am sure, are extremely grateful for all the assistance. When disaster struck, it wasn't their government that showed up to help them. It was the United States of America, projecting its power halfway around the planet, when nobody else could do a thing. To the victims, the Abraham Lincoln must have seemed like the Hand of God, and the Marines, angels.
The victims will always remember and cherish our vital assistance...and that is why the Indonesian government had to put a stop to it as soon as possible.
Let's not blame the victims as they continue to be victimized.
When we bitch about "Indonesians", we should distinguish between the people and the government.That is so true Physicist. I was watching MSNBC last night, they interviewed several average joes who in an around way (for fear of government chastisement) answered the interviewers question of whether they thought that aid workers should be allowed to stay or go with an overwelming yes stay. The average joes know and want help.
Indonesia sets deadline for relief troops to pull out
By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press
1/13/2005
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Indonesia announced that U.S. and other foreign troops providing tsunami disaster relief must leave the country by the end of March and ordered aid workers Wednesday to declare their travel plans or face expulsion from devastated Aceh province on Sumatra island. The government's moves highlight its sensitivities over a foreign military operation in this country - albeit a humanitarian one - and underscore its efforts to regain control of Aceh province, the scene of a decades-old conflict between separatist rebels and federal troops accused of human rights abuses.
The latest restrictions placed on the international presence came as the aircraft carrier leading the U.S. military's tsunami relief effort steamed out of Indonesian waters Wednesday after the government declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions. The USS Abraham Lincoln's diversion was not expected to affect aid flights, however.
U.S. Marines have also scaled back their plans to send hundreds of troops ashore to build roads and clear rubble. The two sides reached a compromise in which the Americans agreed not to set up a base camp on Indonesia or carry weapons.
Instead, the Marines - some 2,000 of whom were diverted to tsunami relief from duty in Iraq - will keep a "minimal footprint" in the country, with most returning to ships at night, said Col. Tom Greenwood, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
In Washington, the White House asked the Indonesian government to explain why it was demanding that the U.S. military and other foreign troops providing disaster relief leave the country by March 31.
"We've seen the reports . . . We'll seek further clarification from Indonesia about what this means," said Scott McClellan, press secretary to President Bush. "We hope that the government of Indonesia and the military in Indonesia will continue the strong support they have provided to the international relief efforts so far."
In announcing the decision, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Tuesday that "a three-month period is enough, even sooner the better."
Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi explained that Indonesia hopes to take over the humanitarian work by March 26, which will be exactly three months after the massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake set off waves across southern Asia and Africa that killed more than 150,000 people, two-thirds of them on Sumatra.
Starting Jan. 26, Indonesia will "gradually take over the role of foreign military and nonmilitary assistance," Silalahi said. By Feb. 26, he said, Indonesia's role should be larger than that of the foreigners.
Indonesia - where the tsunami killed more than 106,000 people - is not the only affected country that is ambivalent about U.S. military aid.
After the earthquake and tsunami, the U.S. military dispatched the Abraham Lincoln battle group to Sumatra and three ships carrying Marines toward Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 people were killed. But two ships carrying Marines were diverted to Sumatra after Sri Lanka downgraded its request for help. India, where more than 10,000 were killed, rebuffed U.S. aid offers.
Some 13,000 U.S. military personnel, most of them aboard ships in the Abraham Lincoln's battle group, are taking part in the relief effort.
In Indonesia, hundreds of troops from other nations are also helping out, along with U.N. agencies and scores of non-governmental aid groups.
The Indonesian government has traditionally barred foreigners from visiting Aceh, relenting after the tsunami struck. Australian National University defense expert Clive Williams said the Indonesians want to keep tabs on foreigners to hide corruption.
"The big problem with dealing with (the military) in Aceh is that they're involved in a lot of corruption there, and the reason I think they don't want people to go to some areas is because they're involved in human rights abuses," Williams said.
