Leony Aurora, Lhokseumawe – The situation just outside Lhokseumawe in the northern part of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is not as gloomy as you might imagine.
Students ride their bicycles home through green paddy fields. The landscape bears no scars, it is picture-perfect as though the tsunami had passed it by.
Matthew Moore, Jakarta/Mark Forbes, Canberra – The Federal Government rejects a plea to give Indonesia more control over international relief money pledged for the reconstruction of Aceh.
Yuliawati, Jakarta – The People's Representative Assembly's Natural Disaster Relief Monitoring Team in Aceh and North Sumatra is asking the government to reconsider the presence of foreign volunteers so that they can remain in Indonesia longer.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Hundreds of people from 14 villages in Aceh Besar regency and Banda Aceh municipality gathered in Lam Isiek village here on Tuesday to pledge to rebuild their homes, which were destroyed by the tsunami.
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has decided staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will be allowed to remain in Aceh province after March 26 to continue reconstruction work helping victims of the tsunami.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A group of people, claiming to be representatives of the Aceh people, stepped up pressure on the government on Monday to review its blueprint on post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh.
Jakarta – Despite the government ban, out-of-court adoptions of children living in refugee camps across tsunami-stricken Aceh remain a cause for concern and could actually be child smuggling, a children's commission says.
Government's decision to continue the civil emergency status and the joint operation (security recovery operation) in Aceh is actually a part of civil emergency in Aceh. This was stated by the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law, and Security – Widodo AS – after leaving from the coordination meeting on politics, law, and security.
An Australian academic banned from Indonesia said yesterday that incorrect reports he had links to separatist rebels in Aceh province could have been the reason he was refused entry this week.
Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Survivors of last December's tsunami asked the Aceh authorities on Friday to review their new policy of restricting the number of foreigners who have been helping them after the devastating catastrophe.
Jakarta – Indonesia's military said Saturday it killed 30 separatist rebels in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province in the space of a week. The development threatened a fragile truce agreed on after the Dec. 26 natural disaster.
Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – Indonesia is considering asking the UNHCR to leave Aceh by the end of this month, saying the United Nations refugee agency may have outlived its usefulness and may be straying outside its mandate in the tsunami-stricken province.
Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Acehnese are set to bid farewell to thousands of foreigners who have been sharing their tribulations following the tsunami catastrophe.
Starting March 26, only a limited number of foreigners will be allowed to stay, the National Police's Aceh task force announced on Thursday.
Richel Dursin, Jakarta – A government plan to cut down more trees in one of the largest national parks in Indonesia to help rebuild tsunami-ravaged Aceh has drawn opposition from environmentalists and officials in the country's Forestry Ministry, who claim that the plan could worsen illegal logging in the country.
[Note that this article was written a while before publication so may be a little out of date]
The end of the meeting was described as warm and full of understanding. One day before the end of the talks, the Prime Minister of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) gave a speech. His voice was calm and measured. He spoke on behalf of Teungku Hasan di Tiro, the "honorable head of state," now based in Sweden.
Melly Febrida, Jakarta – Armed forces (TNI) chief Endriartono Sutarto has guaranteed that recent peace negotiations which are being organised between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will not influence the operation to restore security in Aceh.
Australia will rebuild Indonesian immigration offices in the tsunami-shattered province of Aceh to improve ties between the countries and bolster the fight against people-smuggling, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said.
Andreas Harsono – One early morning in January, when Hotli Simandjuntak drew water from a well outside a house in Banda Aceh, he was complaining about some messages he had received from his Global TV editors in Jakarta. "They grumbled about having no official quotes on the beating of Farid Faqih. How important is Farid in Jakarta?
Banda Aceh – Entering its third month, indications of corruption in the handling of the disaster in Aceh are starting to be uncovered.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government is considering modifications to the implementation of special autonomy in Aceh to put an end to three decades of rebellion in the province.
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The second round of talks to end 29 years of conflict in Aceh has ended with the separatist rebels successfully positioning themselves as moderates prepared to modify their long-held demand for independence.
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government expects to reach a peace accord with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in June or July after two rounds of talks to settle 32 years of conflict in the province.
If a peace deal is struck, there is a possibility that GAM will contest the regional election.
Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia expects to reach a peace pact with rebels in Aceh province by mid-year, but will not grant any form of direct self-rule to the separatist organisation, vice president Jusuf Kalla said on Thursday.
The Indonesian government and Aceh separatists have wrapped up peace talks, setting a date for new talks and reporting major progress, but no breakthrough, on an offer of special autonomy for the tsunami-wrecked province.
Jakarta – Indonesia's president praised Thursday the progress made in peace talks between government negotiators and separatist rebels from tsunami-wracked Aceh province, but he cautioned that a speedy solution to the three-decades-long conflict was unlikely.
Abdul Khalik, Banda Aceh – Standing in front of his ruined house in Lampu'uk, Lhoknga in Aceh Besar regency, 35-year-old Effendi expressed his determination to stay and rebuild his house no matter what.
[This letter was sent to Green Left Weekly for publication by Zely Ariane, the international affairs spokesperson of the Aceh solidarity group SEGERA. Green Left Weekly has been asking our readers to assist SEGERA's appeal after the tsunami, for details visit .]
Sunariah, Jakarta – Armed forces (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has question the desire by the leadership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for self-government, one of the pre-conditions for resolving the conflict between GAM and Indonesia.
John Aglionby – Mohammed Yassin has trouble falling asleep at night. But his insomnia is not caused by haunting dreams of a second tsunami – the sound of construction work until late at night is what keeps him, and other Nusa residents, awake.
Abdul Khalik, Banda Aceh – Humanitarian volunteers are still finding corpses in Aceh, almost two months after the tsunami struck the stricken province, a relief worker says.
Some 1,850 volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and other organizations were still recovering and burying between 200 and 300 corpses a day, a PMI official said.
Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Tricky details could trip up an apparent political breakthrough for Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province after rebels agreed to drop a demand for independence for the tsunami-hit region during peace talks in Finland.
Matthew Davies – Publicity about the tsunami relief effort in Indonesia's Aceh province has mostly depicted Indonesia's military (TNI) in an unprecedented favourable light.
The December 26 earthquake and tsunami disaster that devastated Indonesia's restive province of Aceh, killing 123,071 people, has strengthened the Acehnese people's sense of Indonesian identify, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday.
Shawn Donnan, Calang (Aceh) – Almost two months after the Asian tsunamis, survivors in some of the hardest hit areas of Indonesia's Aceh province have begun rebuilding, turning to scavenged wood, recycled nails and aid from abroad to erect homes.
The Australian government has put out warnings to its citizens to avoid Acheh because of an undefined terrorist threat, which apparently is not believed by either the US or Indonesian governments.
Separatists from tsunami-hit Aceh province will demand a full withdrawal of the 50,000 Indonesian security forces from the region as part of a negotiated settlement to end the long-running civil war, an Australian member of the rebel delegation said.
Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province exchanged gunfire with Indonesian soldiers escorting an aid convoy over the weekend, but no relief workers were injured, a spokeswoman said Monday.
Vaudine England – The lonely mosque, the last thing standing in the once-thriving seaside community of Lampuuk just west of Banda Aceh, now plays host to a huddle of tents.
John Aglionby – It is almost eight weeks since the Boxing Day tsunami devastated much of the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra and it appears the world is beginning to suffer media fatigue over the story.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Banda Aceh – Muzakir Sulaiman heads the Banda Aceh municipal manpower office but he cannot go to work. While he has attended several coordination meetings for public services, he has done little else and he finds it hard to summon up the energy to get busy.
Tom McCawley, Banda Aceh – In a crammed row of storefronts, only Joy Optikal, an eyeglasses shop, has reopened on a dusty street of the tsunami-battered city of Banda Aceh.
Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs, Widodo AS, has revealed that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has agreed to including special autonomy in the agenda to be discussed in the next informal meeting between GAM and the Indonesian government which is to take place in Helsinki.
Jakarta – The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and dozens of its international counterparts are teaming up to take an active role in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh and North Sumatra, Red Cross representatives said on Wednesday.
It's almost two months after the Indian Ocean Tsunami wiped out much of Banda Aceh in Indonesia. But while many reports have focused on the progress of rebuilding efforts, the long-troubled province is experiencing much more subtle shifts.
Jakarta – On the grounds that the investigation is yet to be completed, the detention of Government Watch coordinator Farid Faqih by police on charges of being involved in the theft of aid for victims of the Acehnese disaster was extended by 40 days on Tuesday February 15. Under the extension, Faqih will retain the status of a prisoner until March 27.
Laurence Ronan – This city of 400,000 is in shambles, a third of it completely wiped off the earth, another third under water and mud. Imagine if a wave took out Dorchester, South Boston, Back Bay, and the South End, leaving only a few sticks that were trees and no buildings, just foundations. Well over 100,000 people died here and along the nearby coast.
Medan – The state government must do something to involve the Acehnese in its rebuilding and reconstruction programs, a group of activists said on Tuesday.
Singapore – Peace talks with separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province will continue if the guerrillas stick to the agenda of special autonomy, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Tuesday.
Andreas Harsono, Lamno – Muhammad Ali finished a plate of fried noodles, sipped a glass of cold tea and lamented about his misfortune in a coffee shop at the market in small town Lamno, about 200 kilometers south of the Acehnese capital Banda Aceh.