New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has said New Zealand was "not far off the point" of pulling troops out of Aceh after suggestions terror attacks could be mounted against foreigners assisting with tsunami relief efforts.
According to daily newspaper The Press Monday, Clark discussed the possible threat to New Zealand aid workers and troops helping out in the devastated northern Sumatra region with the visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Auckland on Sunday.
Clark paid tribute to the "fantastic job" the New Zealand medical relief teams had contributed, but said New Zealand would phase down its military contribution as it moved beyond the immediate relief phase.
"We're not too far off that point," she said.
The second deployment of New Zealand military personnel to the tsunami-ravaged area of Indonesia left this month with a 60-personstrong contingent made up of a light medical team and Royal New Zealand Air Force air crew.
They replaced colleagues stationed in Jakarta, and parts of Aceh. The group was expected to be stationed in the region for 60 days.
Medical team staff in Banda Aceh said their work was largely done in restoring the damaged hospital and as more local medical staff returned to work it was time for the Australian-led medical relief effort to hand over day to day operations.
The Indonesian Government has said it wants foreign military forces on its soil to leave by Feb. 26.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) this weekend revised its travel advisory for the region after what ministry spokesman Brad Tattersfield called "specific information" regarding terrorists planning attacks against foreigners involved in tsunami relief efforts.
"The reason we have revised and reissued our advisory is because of intelligence we have received which is especially concerned with international aid workers in the region," Tattersfield was quoted as saying.
"The advisory doesn't alter our warning about the area -- which for some years we have advised people against visiting. Before the tsunami the area was closed to foreigners."
Aceh Province has long been one of the world's hotspots because of tension between Indonesian officials and separatist rebels. Their bitter dispute was briefly put to one side in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami.
However, MFAT believed there was now cause to be concerned for the welfare of the thousands of international aid workers who rushed to Aceh in the wake of the disaster.
"Our embassy staff in Jakarta are making contact with New Zealanders working in Aceh to make sure they are aware of the reports," Tattersfield said.
"New Zealanders should not travel to Banda Aceh or to other parts of Aceh unless the aid organization they work for has a robust security plan approved by the Indonesian authorities. We recommend that New Zealanders not covered by such arrangements, or more generally concerned for their security, leave the area immediately," the MFAT's advisory said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2005)
