Clinton pledges continued help for tsunami-hit Aceh
Afp, Banda Aceh
The UN special envoy for tsunami recovery, former US president Bill Clinton, pledged Wednesday that the international community would not abandon Aceh even after it fades from world attention. Clinton was on a lightning half-day visit to Aceh, where more than 165,000 people were killed or remain missing after last December's devastating tsunami, one day after he toured damaged areas in Sri Lanka. "The assistance of the international community -- the United Nations, the Indonesian government, NGOs large and small -- will stay with you until Pak (Mr.) Kuntoro's job is done," the casually-dressed envoy said, referring to Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the head of the agency in charge of rebuilding Aceh. Clinton laid a wreath at a mass grave where tsunami victims were buried, 12 kilometres south of the provincial capital Banda Aceh, before visiting displaced people housed in temporary homes. Its residents clustered around him, trying to shake his hand.
|
|
