Bill Clinton Lands in Aceh to See Post-Tsunami Development

Jakarta Globe, Nurdin Hasan, Jul 19, 2014

Former President Bill Clinton with Kuntoro (left), the former head of the
 Agency for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (BRR) of Aceh and Nias, and Malik
 Mahmud (second from right) and Zaini Abdullah (right) in Lambung, Banda Aceh
on July 19. (JG Photo/Nurdin Hasan)

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.”

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