OCHA Situation Report
Indonesia
30 September 2004


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Highlights:

The second round of the presidential election went on peacefully without 
major disturbances. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has garnered 60.9% percent of 
the vote.

A bomb exploded outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, causing 9 
deaths and hundreds were injured.

The likely new president of RI, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, indicated that 
working on the resolution of the conflict in Aceh and other trouble spots 
will be his priority in the first 100 days of his duty.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has given its assurance to protect UN 
agencies that resume their operations in West Timor following a change in 
the UN security phase.

TNI will pull out some 1,000 soldiers from Poso by the end of 2004.

IDR 9 billion (USD 957,446) of government assistance for IDPs in Maluku 
might have been embezzled by officials of the Maluku government.

Major events:

National Election: The second round of the presidential election on 20 
September went on peacefully and smoothly, without major disturbances. 
Over 100 million voters went to some 550,000 polling stations to - for the 
first time - directly elect their new president. No clashes broke out in 
the politically sensitive provinces such as Yogyakarta and East Java, nor 
in trouble spots such as Aceh, Papua and Poso. The final counting by the 
General Election Commission will be announced on 5 October, but current 
results show that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has garnered 60.9 percent of 
the vote against the 39.1 percent collected by Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Bomb Blast: Only less than two weeks before the second round of the 
presidential election, a bomb exploded outside the Australian Embassy in 
Jakarta, causing 9 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The explosion caused 
damage to the embassy and other buildings nearby. The police suspect the 
source of the blast was a suicide car bomb and linked it with the Marriot 
bombing on 5 August 2003 and the Bali bombing on 12 October 2002 as they 
all had a similar method.

Regional Updates:

Aceh: The likely new president of RI, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, indicated 
that working on the resolution of the conflict in Aceh and other trouble 
spots will be his priority in the first 100 days of his duty. He 
reiterated that resolving the conflict will be based on the concept of the 
Unitary State of Indonesia. Meanwhile, some 5,000 people (1,300 families) 
Javanese transmigrants who fled from the Province have returned and are 
accommodated in IDP camps in Aceh Jaya, Nagan Raya and West Aceh districts 
while awaiting government assistance to build their houses.

The Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Chief of OCHA Indonesia, together 
with staff of OCHA, WHO and UNICEF visited Banda Aceh and Pidie District 
to get an update on humanitarian situation from local authorities. This 
was the first formal UN agency visit outside Banda Aceh for18 months.

East Nusa Tenggara: UN Resident Coordinator for Indonesia visited the 
Province to officially announce a change in the UN security phase for West 
Timor to local authorities. Several UN agencies - namely UNHCR, WFP, UNDP 
and UNICEF - have indicated plans to reopen or expand their activities in 
the Province. The change in the security phase will be a significant start 
for UN agencies operations and other international organizations to assist 
the local government in finding durable solutions for the remaining 8,000 
former East Timorese refugee families living in camps in the Province. 
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has given its assurance to 
protect UN facilities and staff that resume operations in the Province. 
The assurance was given by the Wirasakti Military Resort Commander after a 
meeting with the UN Residence Coordinator who raised concerns about the 
safety of UN employees.

Central Sulawesi: After the Poso regental election in November, the 
Indonesian Military (TNI) will pull out some 1,000 soldiers from Poso.

Maluku: Ambon Mayor, MJ Papilaja, alleged that officials of the Maluku 
provincial government may have embezzled IDR 9 billion (USD 957,446) of 
government assistance for IDPs in Ambon and other cities in Maluku 
depriving them of the assistance. Meanwhile, the Ambon District Court has 
opened the trial of a senior Maluku social welfare official charged with 
misappropriating some 1,975 tonnes of rice worth IDR 4.1 billion (USD 
455,555). The rice should have been distributed to IDPs who had fled their 
homes during the three years of conflict which started in 1999.

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