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'We
therefore call on the international community to request that the
government of Indonesia open up access to Acheh for international aid.'
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Note: The
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'Furthermore, we hope that both the Indonesian Government and GAM
will immediately re-establish a ceasefire so as to enable aid and
rescue work to proceed smoothly.'
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The Achenese Society
of North America
To: Media
International Community; United Nations; Humanitarian Organizations
and NGOs.
The Achenese Society of North America would like to convey
its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the massive
earthquake, reported to be the worst in 40 years.
 cheh
was one of regions
hardest hit by the earthquake; given the fact that it is situated
closest to the epicenter of the earthquake (about 155km from Banda Acheh). We therefore call on the international community to request
that the government of Indonesia open up access to Acheh for
international aid, rescuers and the media, particularly at a time when
communication with much of the region is not available.
It is important for the international community to understand first
hand the political situation in the area. Acheh has been under martial
law for the past two years after the government of Indonesia decided
to hand the region over to military rule to crush GAM (the Free Acheh
Movement). Since then, it has for all practical purposes been cut off
from access to the world after the government banned foreign
journalists, non-governmental organizations and aid workers. At least
15,000 people have been killed in Acheh since the Indonesian
government began military operations as early as 1987. In most cases,
the military claims that victims are members of GAM, but countless
times human rights groups found that most of the purported GAM members
were actually civilians.
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Given the political background of the region, we believe that it is
crucial for the international community to play a more active role to
demand access to Acheh to ensure that aid and rescue work is actually
undertaken. We would like to urge the United Nations as well as
international humanitarian organizations such as the International
Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and other NGOs to do whatever is
necessary to make sure action is taken to bring assistance to those in
Acheh experiencing this tragedy.
Independent organizations that are not controlled by the Indonesian
government need to play an important role to insure that aid is
received by those who need it most.
The Achenese Society of North America together with the Acheh Times
online website (TsunamiDonation)
are collecting donations for the victims of this tragedy and we hope
that individuals and organizations can help to provide the funds
necessary to help the victims rebuild their lives.
We would like to re-emphasize the importance of having independent
international organizations run and monitor the disbursement of aid in
Acheh to ensure that aid that is channeled to Acheh and received by
the victims. There is a real fear that, if unmonitored, the aid may be
abused by the Indonesian military. The history of rampant corruption
on the parts of the both the Indonesian military as well as government
is legend.
Furthermore, we hope that both the Indonesian Government and GAM
will immediately re-establish a ceasefire so as to enable aid and
rescue work to proceed smoothly. We request that the ceasefire should
hold at least until the situation returns to normal, because
humanitarian workers need to able to conduct their operations safely
without the threat of war.
We believe that the Indonesian government needs to take full
responsibility for this tragedy. We believe that the effect of this
tragedy on Acheh, and Sumatra as a whole, could have been somewhat
lessened had the government provided the region with its own
meteorological center to monitor earthquakes and other natural
disasters.
What this tragedy reminds us most of all is that the land of Acheh
needs peace more than anything right now. This tragedy is perhaps an
important reminder to the international community that Acheh is still
a conflict region, despite having been forgotten by the international
community because of the pre-occupation with Iraq and the war on
terrorism. The people, and the land, of Acheh calls out to the
international community to help alleviate their suffering.
(Letter signed by board members)
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Agencies Accepting Aid Dollars for Tsunami Victims
The following are some of the agencies accepting contributions for
aid to people affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Asia.
ACTION AGAINST HUNGER
247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201
New York, N.Y. 10018
212-967-7800 x108
www.actionagainsthunger.org
AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE
45 West 36th Street, 10th Floor
New York,
N.Y. 10018
800-889-7146
www.ajws.org
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
AFSC Crisis Fund
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102
215-241-7000
www.afsc.org
AMERICAN RED CROSS
International Response Fund
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, D.C. 20013
800-HELP NOW
www.redcross.org
CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
Tsunami Emergency
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, Md. 21203-7090
800-736-3467
www.catholicrelief.org
DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
P.O. Box 1856
Merrifield, Va. 22116-8056
888-392-0392
www.doctorswithoutborders.org
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS
Earthquake/Tsunami Relief
1919 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 300
Santa Monica, Calif. 90404
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org
AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION
COMMITTEE
South Asia Tsunami Relief
Box 321
847A Second Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017
212-687-6200 ext. 851
www.jdc.org
MERCY CORPS
Southeast Asia Earthquake Response
Dept. W
P.O. Box 2669
Portland, Ore. 97208
800-852-2100
www.mercycorps.org
OPERATION USA
8320 Melrose Avenue, Suite 200
Los Angles, Calif. 90069
800-678-7255
www.opusa.org
SAVE THE CHILDREN
Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, Conn. 06880
800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org
ISLAMIC RELIEF USA
Southeast Asia Earthquake Emergency
P.O. Box 6098
Burbank, Calif. 91510
888-479-4968.
www.irw.org/asiaquak
> POST
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