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uropean Union (EU) officials are visiting several sites in Maluku to monitor the progress of EU-funded resettlement projects for people displaced during the island’s sectarian conflicts between 1999 and 2001.

The projects are helping to develop underprivileged areas populated by “new citizens” — some of the half million people who were forced to leave their homes during the conflict and awaiting resettlement and reintegration.

“The EU sees a great importance in supporting the government of Indonesia in addressing the needs of new citizens as part of upholding our shared values of democracy and social equity,” Muamar Vebry, EU project officer for post disaster and reconstruction, said after arriving in Ambon, Maluku, for a three-day visit.

The EU’s “Aid to Uprooted People” projects, which is being implemented by Mercy Corps and Hivos, support the needs of thousands of underprivileged households that are still living in temporary settlements.

The EU’s financial support of Mercy Corps and Hivos would amount to ¤1.6 million (US$2.11 million) between 2010 to 2012, according to Muamar.

The EU has been providing assistance through the program to people affected by conflicts in Indonesia since 2001.

“The direct beneficiaries of this program have traditionally been people returning to their homes after conflicts have been resolved: refugees and former refugees, former combatants and their host communities,” he said.

In 2010, the EU created a new ¤5 million fund for NGO to further address the needs of former refugees and internally displaced people.

The fund has been allocated for projects in West Timor, Central Sulawesi and Maluku — the areas with the largest number of underprivileged internally-displaced people.

At the end of the field visit, the EU and Indonesian government plan to organize a workshop as part of a series of coordination meetings with various stakeholders involved in the projects.

Previous workshops took place in Jakarta and Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, at the end of last year.

The workshop is intended to improve understanding between the affected groups, the organizations working on their behalf and the decision-makers at all levels of public administration on how to solve issues involving uprooted people.

It is estimated that approximately 150,000 to 200,000 people remain displaced as a result of former conflicts across Indonesia.

They generally belong to some of the most vulnerable groups in the country.

“The problems they face are often linked to a lack of basic resources such as land, housing, water, sanitation, infrastructure, education, health facilities and opportunities for economic development,” Muamar said.