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Zain warned the committee that money Canada has sent to rebuild Aceh following the tsunami — which killed 128,000 in that province alone and left half-a-million people homeless — will be wasted unless Canada also invests in democratizing and opening up civil society in the region.

“Denounce the human rights violations,” she urged the backbenchers and opposition politicians on the committee. “To ensure that funds are not lost to the corruption in the recovery and the reconstruction process in Aceh — to promote meaningful civil society participation in peace negotiations and the planning, monitoring and control of the reconstruction in Aceh.”

In 2004 Indonesia was tied with six other countries for a ranking of 133rd on Transparency International’s annual index of corruption. Only seven other countries in the world ranked lower. A large part of Indonesia’s bribe-taking and influence peddling is associated with the military.

“Indonesia is on a very long curve toward democratization,” Dan McTeague, the Pickering-Scarborough East Liberal MP, told The Catholic Register after Zain’s presentation.

Zain’s request struck at the heart of Parliament’s current review of Canada’s foreign policy. Should Canada use its influence and its meagre overseas development aid budget to promote democracy, civil institutions, rule of law, peace making and peacekeeping around the world? Or should it concentrate on protecting Canada’s national security and economic interests? It’s what McTeague and others call the “romanticism versus reality” debate.

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In a May 3 letter to KAIROS, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew maintained the international community encourages tsunami-affected countries to take the lead in their own recovery. “We have stressed to the Government of Indonesia the importance of protecting civilians and of maintaining the safe and unhindered access to tsunami-affected regions,” Pettigrew said. “The protection of civilians and humanitarian workers is a priority for all of us.”

However, the Department of Foreign Affairs also supports the Indonesian National Armed Forces’ (TNI) assistance in the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. Their role in coordinating relief efforts and providing security has been a “positive one,” the department said. “Few other actors have the capacity — both in human and technical resources — to provide the kind of rapid and efficient response that is needed (in the region) ...”

That’s no solace for activists eyeing Aceh’s plodding recovery. Slamet says: “We’re trying to illustrate how a militaristic approach to resolving conflicts, to ensuring security around the world, does not work. It only results in greater insecurity and massive human-rights violations — and unrest.

“It’s not a question of money, it’s a question of how they use the money and whether it’s falling into the wrong hands. It needs to be looked at more carefully.”

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