Point0Five
29th Jan 2005, 08:16
Refugees paid bribes for lift on NZ Hercules - magazine
27 January 2005
By JARROD BOOKER
Refugees flown by the Royal New Zealand Air Force from tsunami-ravaged Aceh to Jakarta bribed Indonesian soldiers to get on board, a respected international news magazine has reported.
An article in the American Newsweek publication claimed the New Zealand military had become caught up in "rampant profiteering" in the wake of the disaster that killed more than 150,000 people.
"On a New Zealand military cargo flight from Aceh to Jakarta last week, about half of the `refugees' being carried out were well-dressed people who paid up to $80 to Indonesian military screeners to be allowed on the plane," the article said.
The article catalogues a litany of corruption in the province including:
A deteriorating security situation that includes looters, corpse scavengers, child kidnappers, radical Islamic groups and paramilitary youth gangs.
Uncertainty about the Indonesian army reaction to continuing aid efforts. Before the Tsunami hit commanders ran business empires, oversaw smuggling, illegal logging, protection rackets and extortion in the region.
The Free Aceh movement exporting drugs, kidnapping for ransom and taxing villages.
Looting becoming a common sport for uniformed personnel in Aceh and black market trading rampant.
Indonesia is one of the 20 most corrupt countries in the world, according to last year's Corruption Perceptions Index.
Foreign Minister Phil Goff said last night the New Zealand operation was acting in good faith.
"We've got no information about the accusations other than that the people who we have been flying out have been referred to us by the Indonesian authorities," Goff said.
"Obviously, our basis for this sort of evacuation would be on need. We've been given no evidence to the contrary that the need for evacuation has been subordinated by the ability to pay."
New Zealand Defence Force spokeswoman Commander Sandy McKie said the reports of people buying places on a New Zealand Hercules aircraft were unconfirmed.
"We are not going to investigate it. It is anecdotal evidence," McKie said.
She said the Hercules aircraft only took displaced Indonesians on board if there was room after flying vital food, equipment and personnel from Jakarta to Aceh.
Any "displaced people" taken on the flights to Jakarta were sorted by the Indonesian authorities. About 300 had been transported to date.
"We have no say or control in who these people are," McKie said.
"Some have been reasonably well-dressed but nothing that stands out. Of course, they are still displaced people and have the same right to travel."
Press reporter Dave Courtney flew on a Hercules from Aceh with displaced people and said hundreds wanted to get on the flights out.
Those on his flight were dressed as well as any other residents on the streets of Aceh, Courtney said.
Any money paid for flights would have changed hands out of view of the New Zealanders, he said.
New Zealand First MP Ron Mark and Green Party foreign affairs spokesman Keith Locke have both called for the New Zealand Government to take the matter up with the Indonesian Government.
Mark said the reported incidents showed the need for the Government to be wary of how it devoted its humanitarian resources.
"A wise government would not think with its heart. That may sound harsh but, if we want to do the best for an impoverished nation, we have to keep firm control over how our resources are being used. The Australian government has showed how it should be done."
The New Zealand Government should have been well aware of what to expect by sending Kiwi military to Indonesia, Mark said.
"You can't ignore the history of certain countries. Some countries have a culture of corruption."
Locke said it was important that New Zealand was not complicit in corrupt practices. It was well known the Indonesian military was corrupt.
Locke said he wanted to see claims of bribery taken up with the Indonesian Government at the highest level.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3168143a10,00.html (http://)
27 January 2005
By JARROD BOOKER
Refugees flown by the Royal New Zealand Air Force from tsunami-ravaged Aceh to Jakarta bribed Indonesian soldiers to get on board, a respected international news magazine has reported.
An article in the American Newsweek publication claimed the New Zealand military had become caught up in "rampant profiteering" in the wake of the disaster that killed more than 150,000 people.
"On a New Zealand military cargo flight from Aceh to Jakarta last week, about half of the `refugees' being carried out were well-dressed people who paid up to $80 to Indonesian military screeners to be allowed on the plane," the article said.
The article catalogues a litany of corruption in the province including:
A deteriorating security situation that includes looters, corpse scavengers, child kidnappers, radical Islamic groups and paramilitary youth gangs.
Uncertainty about the Indonesian army reaction to continuing aid efforts. Before the Tsunami hit commanders ran business empires, oversaw smuggling, illegal logging, protection rackets and extortion in the region.
The Free Aceh movement exporting drugs, kidnapping for ransom and taxing villages.
Looting becoming a common sport for uniformed personnel in Aceh and black market trading rampant.
Indonesia is one of the 20 most corrupt countries in the world, according to last year's Corruption Perceptions Index.
Foreign Minister Phil Goff said last night the New Zealand operation was acting in good faith.
"We've got no information about the accusations other than that the people who we have been flying out have been referred to us by the Indonesian authorities," Goff said.
"Obviously, our basis for this sort of evacuation would be on need. We've been given no evidence to the contrary that the need for evacuation has been subordinated by the ability to pay."
New Zealand Defence Force spokeswoman Commander Sandy McKie said the reports of people buying places on a New Zealand Hercules aircraft were unconfirmed.
"We are not going to investigate it. It is anecdotal evidence," McKie said.
She said the Hercules aircraft only took displaced Indonesians on board if there was room after flying vital food, equipment and personnel from Jakarta to Aceh.
Any "displaced people" taken on the flights to Jakarta were sorted by the Indonesian authorities. About 300 had been transported to date.
"We have no say or control in who these people are," McKie said.
"Some have been reasonably well-dressed but nothing that stands out. Of course, they are still displaced people and have the same right to travel."
Press reporter Dave Courtney flew on a Hercules from Aceh with displaced people and said hundreds wanted to get on the flights out.
Those on his flight were dressed as well as any other residents on the streets of Aceh, Courtney said.
Any money paid for flights would have changed hands out of view of the New Zealanders, he said.
New Zealand First MP Ron Mark and Green Party foreign affairs spokesman Keith Locke have both called for the New Zealand Government to take the matter up with the Indonesian Government.
Mark said the reported incidents showed the need for the Government to be wary of how it devoted its humanitarian resources.
"A wise government would not think with its heart. That may sound harsh but, if we want to do the best for an impoverished nation, we have to keep firm control over how our resources are being used. The Australian government has showed how it should be done."
The New Zealand Government should have been well aware of what to expect by sending Kiwi military to Indonesia, Mark said.
"You can't ignore the history of certain countries. Some countries have a culture of corruption."
Locke said it was important that New Zealand was not complicit in corrupt practices. It was well known the Indonesian military was corrupt.
Locke said he wanted to see claims of bribery taken up with the Indonesian Government at the highest level.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3168143a10,00.html (http://)