Jakarta Globe, Nurdin Hasan, Jul 19, 2014
Banda Aceh. Former US president Bill Clinton made an informal visit to Aceh on Saturday to see progress in the development of the autonomous region almost a decade after it was devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami.
Banda Aceh. Former US president Bill Clinton made an informal visit to Aceh on Saturday to see progress in the development of the autonomous region almost a decade after it was devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami.
Clinton
visited three locations — Lhokseudu and Lampuuk, two villages in Aceh Besar district,
as well as Lambung village in Banda Aceh district.
He brought
along several college students in addition to members of the Clinton
Foundation, the former president’s philanthropic vehicle.
He visited
the remains of a house in Lumbung village, which has been left unrepaired as a
reminder of the 2004 tragedy. Clinton was also scheduled to visit Lampuuk, a
village 30 minutes outside Banda Aceh that was rebuilt after the tsunami.
Kuntoro
Mangkusubroto, head of the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency
(BRR), Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and Malik Mahmud Al-Haytar, Aceh’s cultural
leader, accompanied the former president.
Clinton did
not give any statement to reporters.
This is
Clinton’s fourth visit to Indonesia’s westernmost province. He visited Aceh
twice in 2005, once with former US president George W. Bush on Feb 20, 2005.
His third visit was in 2006.
A small
number of protesters gathered at Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport in
Aceh Besar. Dozens of college students protested against the former president
on account of the US alliance with Israel.
The
proptesters were dispersed by police because they had not applied for a permit.
“Bill
Clinton is not visiting Aceh for a humanitarian mission,” protest coordinator
Reza Fahlevi said. “He should have gone to Palestine to see the brutality of
Israel troops.
“We reject
his arrival and if the Aceh administration welcomes him then they are
hypocrites.”
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment