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Asian Tsunamis disaster
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Nearly
3,500 people held mass prayers for tsunami victims here on Sunday, a day ahead
of the first anniversary of the disaster that left over 169,000 Acehnese dead or
missing and half a million homeless.
The mass prayers lasted for nearly two hours.
Earlier on Saturday, they paid a devotional visit to
the mass graves of tsunami victims in Lamgarut village, some 10 km from
provincial capital city Banda Aceh.
A total of 46,718 unidentified bodies were buried in
the mass cemetery.
Hundreds of local and foreign journalists
have gathered here inrecent days to attend Monday's memorial ceremony to be
attended byIndonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Enditem
Aceh people expect lasting
peace
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec. 25 (Xinhuanet)
-- Residents of Indonesia's Aceh are cherishing the current peaceful
environment, which created jointly by the Indonesian government and the
separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) after signing a peace deal four months ago
to end three decades of hostility which had claimed 15,000 lives.
"I can drive safely now without scare of being
ambushed by GAM members, and we hope the peace to last forever so that we can do
our business well," taxi driver Amin told Xinhua here on Sunday.
Amin is among millions of Acehneses who can feel the
peace bornout of the peace agreement, which started to be discussed right after
the tsunami. The killer tsunami ravaged the resource-rich province on Dec. 26,
2004, leaving over 169,000 Acehnese dead or missing and half a million homeless.
Amran, an official at the Public Works Department of
the local government, said that currently his office could implement all
development projects smoothly and efficiently.
"Before the agreement was signed, many projects had
to be delayed due to the threat from GAM. Sometimes we had to pay for GAM, or we
had to employ troops to secure the development of projects," he said.
In the downtown of capital city Banda Aceh, the
capital of the province, most restaurants and vendors now stay open later at
night as they do not have to worry about their security anymore.
"Before the peace agreement was signed, we use to
close before nine o'clock p.m., but now it is safe, so we can close before
midnight," restaurant owner Mujahiddin told Xinhua here on Sunday.
"The revenue of my restaurant has begun to rise. I do
not want it to stop for security reasons," he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Indonesia Minister of
Information Sofyan Djalil said that the end of the conflict had paved the way
for rebuilding the tsunami-hit province.
"In the future, it is expected that the peace in Aceh
is permanent, investment will come, and economy will grow," he told Xinhua by
phone.
Further more, Head of the Aceh and Nias
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) Kuntoro Mangkusubroto told Xinhua
by phone on Sunday that some GAM members had taken part in the rebuilding
efforts.
"With the peace agreement, the rebuilding and
rehabilitation process can be speeded up," he said, adding that one former GAM
member had a top-level post in the agency and four others would join the
agency's work soon.
According to the peace deal signed on August 15 in
Helsinky, Finland, GAM has handed over all their weapons recently and government
troops and police withdrawal will complete on December 29.
In the deal, GAM gave up its demand to establish an
independentstate in the province, while the government in return allowed its
members to form political party to have a say in local issues.
"The peace process is still on track. The commitment from both sides are strong," Yuri Lass, spokesman of the Aceh Peace Monitoring Mission told Xinhua here on Sunday. Enditem [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] | 
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