Wolfowitz wants to hand over relief work soon
By wire services
Published January 16, 2005
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz flew across the devastated wasteland along the Sumatran coast Saturday, voiced pride in the American aid operation but said Washington wants to hand over relief work to Indonesia and other affected nations as soon as possible.
The Indonesians "have welcomed us in a way that might have been unimaginable in other circumstances," Wolfowitz said aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln anchored off the Indonesian coast.
In the ongoing recovery work in Indonesia's Aceh province, the United Nations Development Program started paying about 3,000 tsunami survivors the equivalent of $3 a day to help with the cleanup, an attempt to kick-start the region's crippled economy.
The U.N. refugee organization, the UNHCR, was distributing 10,000 five-person tents to survivors in the city, agency officials said, with 10,000 more expected soon.
Efforts to keep epidemics at bay intensified, with the United Nations accelerating a measles vaccination drive after 20 cases of the disease were reported across Aceh.
Tetanus also has been detected in 67 people, said Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders. Because the disease has an incubation period of up to 60 days, that number is expected to increase. Tetanus has a death rate of up to 25 percent.
Aid workers were spraying tents and walls with insecticide to kill mosquitoes and prevent malaria in areas that were swamped by the killer waves.
More aid teams will be heading to the ravaged coastal city of Meulaboh, including doctors who will establish a mobile clinic, said Roberta Rossi of USAID.
The United States is keen to use its big aid and recovery effort, which has included many U.S. ships and thousands of troops, to boost American standing in the Muslim world, where Indonesia is the most populous Islamic country.
Jakarta, nevertheless, has expressed unease over the number of foreign troops and wants them out by the end of March. Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Indonesia, said the United States respects that concern and had no intention of interfering in Indonesia's domestic affairs.
"We don't have a plan other than to try as quickly as we can to hand over responsibility to others, and especially to the Indonesian government as they're ready to take that on," he said.
Adding to Indonesian sensitivity, the bulk of the devastation on Sumatra Island hit Aceh Province, where separatist rebels have been fighting against the central government for years.
"Indonesians are very self-reliant people. So before long, they probably won't need the help," he said later in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.
After touring the damage zone, Wolfowitz declined to comment on Jakarta's demands that the United States lift a long-standing ban on selling weapons to Indonesia's military.
Celebrities hold televised benefitLOS ANGELES - Madonna, Elton John, Nelly, Kenny Chesney and other musicians converged on an NBC Universal studio Saturday for a hastily arranged TV benefit concert for tsunami victims.
The musicians were joined by actors George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Renee Zellweger and Brad Pitt in trying to help victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami. Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban and Mary J. Blige also were involved.
The two-hour program aired live at 8 p.m. Saturday on NBC and affiliated cable stations CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo, Pax TV, Trio and the Sci-Fi Channel.
Viewers were urged to call 1-800-435-7669. All donations will go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.
Sony's Connect music store is offering downloads of live performances from the concert, with proceeds going to the American Red Cross. SBC Communications underwrote the commercial-free program.