NZ medics face Aceh war zone

JAKARTA - The New Zealand relief effort could be flying into trouble in the stricken Aceh province on Sumatra island as fighting continues in a decades-old war of independence.

A 30-strong New Zealand Defence Force medical team leaves for Indonesia today to help deal with the aftermath of last week's devastating tsunami.

New Zealand already has police and defence personnel in the area helping with victim identification and a C-130 Hercules delivering relief supplies.

However, they could be flying into a potential war zone with reports that the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) had launched raids on Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel strongholds in parts of East and West Aceh. The raids come despite calls by the newly-elected government for soldiers to put down their weapons and concentrate on aid.

Reports are also emerging of increased looting - mainly through desperation due to a lack of aid filtering through - and the brutal murder of a protestant preacher and his wife during an arson attack on a Methodist church in the mainly Muslim province.

New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta charge d'affaires David Strachan said he could not comment on reports of violence because he had not heard of them, but gave assurances the New Zealand Defence Force was taking all sensible precautions.

GAM have been fighting for independence in the oil and gas-rich province since 1976. In May 2003, the Indonesian government launched a massive military operation to "crush" the rebels. No fewer than 2500 people have been killed as a result, putting the total death toll since 1976 at between 12,000 and 20,000. The media and aid agencies had been banned from entering the province, so the full scale of the fighting has not been calculated, though rights groups accuse both sides of widespread human rights abuses, including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings.

New Zealand placed a ban on aiding the TNI in the aftermath of the bloody violence in East Timor in 1999. New Zealand peacekeeping soldier Leonard Manning was killed by TNI-backed militia in July 2000.

Meanwhile, Mr Strachan said New Zealand was exploring options to increase aid for Indonesia and had leased two helicopters from Kalimantan to work in with the Australian-led effort. Other efforts included matching contributions collected by Surfaid, which was leading New Zealand efforts to provide aid to Nias island, off North Sumatra province, a surf Mecca popular with New Zealanders.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY