Seventy-five Indonesian journalists had perished in the tidal waves which hit Aceh while more than 25 are still missing, according to Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia president Eddy Suprapto.

In a telephone interview yesterday, he said three of those killed and five on the 'missing' list were members of the alliance.

He added that almost all those journalists who died in the Dec 26 incident were Acehnese.

AJI, which is affiliated to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has now established a centre based in Aceh to monitor the situation of its members.

Suprapto complained that the Indonesian government is unable to provide sufficient information to the media on the actual situation in the province, which has been reduced to ruins by the massive waves.

"We have to get information from our own networks. The Indonesian government has no ability to handle the situation at all.

"The Indonesian leadership is not strong enough. They also don't have the experience in handling the disaster. Their response was very slow, more people are dying everyday because of this (inefficiency)," he claimed.

However, he said apart from the logistic problems, both local and foreign journalists have no difficulties in entering Aceh and covering the news there.

"Journalists have the freedom to cover whatever news they like," he added.

Corpses everywhere

Suprapto also dismissed news reports on the Indonesian army's dominance in the strife-torn province, where separatist rebels are waging a war for independence.
"I don't think the Western media knows what is happening in Aceh now. The Indonesian military was also hit by the disaster as well. The situation is very different now," said the journalist, who was kidnapped by the rebels while reporting on the armed conflict last year.

He was later released unharmed.

Suprapto, who went to Aceh two days after the waves struck, recounted his experience.

"I could smell the corpses immediately when I arrived at the airport. The situation is still very bad now and you can easily see many corpses on the street," he said.

In another development, the Jakarta Post newspaper reported that at least 1,000 teachers are missing in Aceh and over 50 percent of school buildings there have been destroyed.

Indonesian director-general of Elementary and Secondary Education Indra Jati Sidi was quoted as saying that approximately 140,000 elementary school students and 20,000 junior high school have been left in the lurch.

According to Indonesia's Ministry of Health, at least 94,000 people were killed in Aceh.