Indonesia asserts control on aid

The Associated Press

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- The U.S. military faced tighter restrictions Wednesday as the Indonesian government sought to reassert control over foreign troops, relief workers and journalists in the tsunami-devastated region, which also has been the site of a rebel insurgency.

In Paris, the world's wealthiest nations said they support a moratorium on debt repayments by countries stricken by the Dec. 26 disaster that has killed more than 150,000 people.

The moves by the Indonesian government, aimed primarily at U.S. troops, underscore the nationalistic country's sensitivities at having foreign military forces operating there. They also come amid warnings from the Indonesian military that areas of tsunami-battered Aceh province may not be safe for aid workers.

Although hundreds of troops from Australia, Singapore, Germany and other nations are also helping the relief mission, the United States has the largest presence by far with about 13,000. The Indonesian military is providing security for all of them.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is leading the U.S. military's relief effort, steamed out of Indonesian waters Wednesday because the U.S. Navy only has permission from the Indonesians to fly aircraft into its airspace that are directly supporting the humanitarian operation, said Lt. Cmdr. John M. Daniels, spokesman for the Lincoln carrier strike group. Helicopters will still deliver aid to Sumatra's devastated coast, however.

Indonesia declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions. Under U.S. Navy rules, pilots of carrier-based warplanes cannot go more than 14 days without flying or their skills are considered to have degraded too far. Since the Abraham Lincoln has been stationed off Sumatra since Jan. 1, the carrier moved out of Indonesian waters so its pilots could conduct their training flights in international airspace.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said foreign troops would be out of the country by March 31.

"A three-month period is enough, even the sooner the better," Kalla said.

The government also ordered aid workers and journalists to declare travel plans or face expulsion from Aceh as authorities moved to reassert control of the rebellion-wracked area.

Indonesian government has been asked to explain the restrictions on aid workers and journalists.