Tsunami gives Aceh troops new role

By Rachel Harvey BBC News, Aceh

In the Indonesian province of Aceh, military personnel start their days on the parade ground, preparing for action.

Each soldier has a rifle slung across his back. But the rubber boots and face masks are not exactly standard military issue.

Aid work is a new task for troops more used to fighting rebels

These men are not planning an offensive strike, but leading the cleanup operation in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami which devastated this region on 26 December.

And even for these battle-hardened troops - more used to fighting separatist Acehnese rebels than carrying out aid work - it is a harrowing task.

Sergeant Joko Songkono was out on patrol when the earthquake hit.

His truck was almost turned over by the force of the tremor, but he survived. Many of his friends were not so lucky.

I've changed my opinion of the army. Before things were bad because of the fighting. But now we see that the soldiers have come forward to help Aceh Acehnese woman

Like most of the soldiers in Aceh, Joko Songkono was sent to the province to fight separatist rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (Gam), but he has spent most of the past three weeks collecting dead bodies.

"Even now the rebels are still a threat. They have bases in the hills over there. We need to be careful - they are still around," he said.

"Our mission was to fight the rebels, not to do humanitarian work. I never expected to be doing this," he said.

Mistrust

The latest phase of what has been a long-running separatist conflict in Aceh began in May 2003, when an internationally backed peace process fell apart.

The fighting since then has been brutal, and abuses have been committed by both sides.

Indonesian soldiers are feared and mistrusted by local people in Aceh - an image which the military is now trying to change.

One soldier, Renaldi, his camouflage uniform spattered with dirt, said he was proud of the work he was doing to clear wreckage from a school.

"Now we're helping people directly. I hope this disaster will bring us closer to the locals," he said.

Even battle-hardened troops find the work emotionally draining

So could this catastrophe be a chance for the military to improve its image? Opinions seem to be divided.

"I've changed my opinion of the army," one woman said. "Before things were bad because of the fighting. But now we see that the soldiers have come forward to help Aceh."

But other Acehnese are more sceptical.

"It's all just the same, there's no change at all," one man said. "They just walk about the city, but still shops are being looted all the time. It's like the soldiers are just pretending."

Cynicism runs deep in this traumatised province. Before the earthquake struck, Aceh was virtually cut off from the outside world.

The Indonesian military was in control and it did not want outsiders scrutinising the way it conducted its war with the rebels.

But now, the air is filled with the noise of helicopters flown in by foreign troops.

On the ground, foreign aid workers and journalists roam areas which used to be off-limits.

Indonesian soldiers may be at the forefront of humanitarian operations for now, but many local people are already wondering what will happen when the eyes of the world finally turn away.