The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expresses its solidarity with the victims and survivors of the earthquake that struck the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia on May 27, 2006. It has been reported that nearly 5000 persons have been killed, while 20,000 are injured and 200, 000 have been rendered homeless.
Although rescue operations are underway at present, the AHRC is concerned by the insufficiency of emergency supplies, including tents for survivors; many affected persons have spent the second night out in the rain, amidst the rubble of their homes. Similarly, hospitals are overflowing with injured persons, and people are now being treated outside. The worst affected in this tragedy will be the poor.
According to local human rights group Kontras (Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence), the immediate needs of the survivors include canned food and water, baby food and milk, medicines, tents, sleeping bags, blankets, clothes and cooking equipment.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is at present in Yogyakarta with other cabinet ministers, directing emergency operations. While this is morally helpful to the survivors as well as indicating the importance given to the relief effort by the government, it also spotlights Indonesia’s lack of any national mechanism to deal with disaster management. Such a mechanism is essential in a country geographically prone to natural disasters.
Together with such a mechanism, long terms rehabilitation plans need to be urgently worked out. Yogyakarta, particularly the areas of Bantul and Klaten, is in a very vulnerable position. An enormous amount of work needs to be done, such as the clearance and identification of bodies, providing medical care and housing and dealing with the issue of displaced persons, particularly those who have lost all their belongings. While much of this is dependent on foreign donations and aid, the chief organiser for providing solutions to these problems is the state. The AHRC urges the Indonesian government to carefully work out a plan for reconstruction and rehabilitation, keeping in mind those that were most adversely affected. The AHRC also calls upon all international organisations and individuals to pledge immediate humanitarian assistance to the Indonesian citizens.
