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Annual report 1998 - ICRC



Jakarta Regional delegation 
(Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia/East Timor, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore)
The year under review will surely be described as a tumultuous year for Indonesia, with food shortages and spiralling prices triggering unrest and the popular demand for political and economic reform leading to widespread violent demonstrations and the resignation of the country's longstanding President. Against the backdrop of a devastated economy, the hardest hit by the Asian stock market crash, more than 30 Indonesian cities were rocked by social unrest. Medan in Sumatra and Solo and Jakarta in Central Java were the worst affected, but towns in Aceh, Irian Jaya and East Timor also saw mass demonstrations. In ad-dition to the enormous material damage, the death toll in the capital alone reached 1,300 in mid-May, following two days of uncontrolled rioting and looting.

Nutritional situation improves in Irian Jaya

The ICRC's medical and relief operation launched in December 1997 in drought-stricken Irian Jaya continued until July. Despite logistic constraints and bad weather conditions, the ICRC, in conjunction with the Indonesian Red Cross Society (PMI), distributed food to people living in the Mimika Regency. Medical assistance was given to some villagers on the spot while the seriously ill were evacuated to hospitals in Tembagapura or Timika. Cases of malaria were treated and malaria-control measures were taken at the community level. In some villages the incidence of this mosquito-borne disease dropped from 80% to a mere 10%. 

The Red Cross operation in the Baliem valley was carried out in coordination with other humanitarian players in the region. The ICRC/PMI team focused on assessing needs, fine-tuning assistance and carrying out micro-distributions from places where food had been stocked. As in the Mimika Regency, seed distributions were carried out to help the local population regain its self-sufficiency. A medical and agricultural survey of villages bordering Papua New Guinea found that the Irianese in this jungle region had adequate food supplies and needed no aid. As there were no longer any pressing needs, the ICRC phased out its operations in Irian Jaya in July.

Clashes occurred in Biak, Jayapura, Manokwari and Sorong when the security forces forcibly dispersed students demanding independence for Irian Jaya. 

ICRC resumes work in Aceh

Following the expulsion of several hundred Acehnese from Malaysia in March, the authorities agreed to allow the ICRC to resume activities in Aceh province after a hiatus of over a year. In May the ICRC began assessing the situation of some 500 returnees. An ICRC delegate based in Lhokseumawe worked closely with PMI staff. The seriously ill or wounded were followed up by the ICRC and a PMI nurse and medical assistance was provided where necessary. Moreoever, visits were conducted to military camps and police stations in East Aceh, North Aceh and Pidie districts.

In December the ICRC launched an assistance programme for victims of violence in the region in cooperation with the Indonesian Red Cross. Widows, the disabled and orphans are slated to receive family food parcels and/or school supplies. 

Medical supplies given to National Society

In view of the social unrest throughout Indonesia, the ICRC placed medicines and other medical supplies at the National Society's disposal. Red Cross volunteers were actively involved in the evacuation of students wounded in demonstrations and the provision of assistance to people who had been trapped in burning buildings during the looting in the capital.

The ICRC office in East Timor built up a stock of emergency medical supplies in response to the potential influx of wounded following the demonstrations in Dili and continued to monitor the food situation in villages affected by the drought resulting from the El Niño phenomenon.

Checking conditions of detainees

As in the past, the ICRC continued to visit places of detention in various parts of Indonesia. Working with the PMI, delegates provided material and medical assistance where necessary, enabled detainees to contact or remain in touch with their relatives and organized family visits to Irianese and East Timorese detainees being held far from their homes. The ICRC also followed up individual medical cases and in certain instances provided financial assistance for their hospitalization.

The ICRC conducted its regular visits to detainees in East Timor in accordance with standard ICRC procedures and with the cooperation of the authorities concerned. Visits were also carried out to detainees receiving medical treatment in Dili's military and civilian hospitals. 

Health promotion and water and sanitation in East Timor

The ICRC/PMI water and sanitation teams in East Timor pursued projects that ranged from the sinking of individual wells to the building of large distribution networks. National Society staff assisted by an expatriate health delegate continued the health-promotion programme with the focus on malaria, vaccinations and the prevention of diarrhoea. The delegate also treated Timorese living in remote areas for skin and intestinal parasites. Red Cross staff took advantage of their presence in remote parts of the territory to promote knowledge of humanitarian law among local people. 

Restoring and maintaining family links

As in previous years, and because Portugal has no diplomatic representation in Indonesia, the ICRC issued travel documents and made arrangements for the transfer to Portugal of East Timorese who had sought asylum at foreign embassies in Jakarta, as well as former civil servants in the Portuguese colonial administration. The delegation also organized a number of family reunifications. In addition, delegates forwarded Red Cross messages between Timorese in East Timor and relatives living elsewhere.

Promoting humanitarian law among various target groups

Besides responding to new developments in 1998, the ICRC continued to devote much time and effort to fostering knowledge of and compliance with humanitarian law and cooperating with the National Societies in the region. Presentations were given for various target groups, including current and future members of the legal profession, representatives of government institutions and Red Cross personnel. The ICRC also organized numerous seminars for members of the Indonesian armed forces on humanitarian law, the ICRC's role and mandate and the protection afforded by the red cross emblem. Similar sessions were held in Malaysia.

To strengthen the PMI's capacity to respond to disasters, including situations of unrest, the ICRC provided funds for and took part in National Society "train-the-trainers" courses. The delegation also included a component on humanitarian law and ICRC activities during disaster-preparedness seminars conducted in close cooperation with the Federation. 

Medical survey in Myanmar's border region

The ICRC conducted medical surveys in the provinces of Myanmar bordering on China, Laos and Thailand. Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria were among the conditions found to affect large sectors of the population. After having received the authorities' approval, the ICRC, together with the Myanmar Red Cross Society, began drawing up a health promotion programme which should be implemented in Shan state in early 1999. Assistance for the war-disabled in Myanmar continued to be monitored regularly by the ICRC's prosthetic/orthotic coordinator based in Cambodia.