The following statement by Dita Indah Sari, chairperson of the People's Democratic Party, was issued on June 1.
As a result of the earthquake that struck Yogyakarta and parts of Central Java on May 27, some 5800 people have died and 20,000 have been injured; 135,000 homes have been destroyed and around 647,000 people displaced. The worst hit areas are the Bantul regency, Yogyakarta city, the Kidul Mountain regency and Sleman. Also badly affected were Klaten, Boyolali, Sukohardjo and Magelang in Central Java. Six days after the earthquake, government assistance to the victims of the earthquake remains of concern.
Assistance to victims who require treatment — many of whom are suffering bone fractures — has proceeded extremely slowly. Likewise, the distribution of basic foods, tents and blankets. As already conceded by Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, it has been extremely bureaucratic, with displaced people being required to prove their identities — something that makes no sense in an emergency situation where identification documents have been lost among the rubble of destroyed houses.
The amount of funds distributed so far is also extremely inadequate. As a result, hundreds of thousands of displaced people are suffering from a lack of food. Thousands of others who have lost their homes are being forced to sleep in the open due to a lack of tents. The assistance that has arrived the fastest — although very limited — has been direct assistance from the public and sympathetic organisations, both domestic as well as international.
I call for sympathy from all Indonesian people and the international community to assist the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Yogyakarta and Central Java earthquake who are currently facing the threat of hunger and exposure. Whatever the form of assistance, and how ever much the assistance, it will contribute to assisting the suffering of the victims.
[Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific is collecting donations for these projects. Commonwealth Bank account name: Peoples Power Fighting Fund. BSB: 062 026. Account number: 1006 0743. Please email <glw@greenleft.org.au> after donating so we can identify where the money came from.]
From Green Left Weekly, June 7, 2006.
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