Sri Lanka President's senior adviser visits Aceh

(July 03, 2009) Basil Rajapaksa, senior adviser to the Sri Lankan president, visited in Aceh in Indonesia on Wednesday and Thursday on a two-day fact-finding mission to "learn from and share experiences *with Indonesia*," on how to overcome problems in keeping peace.

Upon his arrival, Rajapaksa met with the Aceh Reintegration Body (BRA) that deals with socio-political problems pertaining to former combatants of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), reported Jakartha Post.

Excerpt from the Jakartha Post:

The Wednesday meeting between Rajapaksa and BRA leader Nur Juli revealed that the Sri Lankan government is facing post-conflict problems, especially in the reintegration of former LTTE combatants and other citizens.

The Aceh separatist conflict typically had similarities with the conflicts involving the Tamil Tigers, Rajapaksa said.

But the peace process in Aceh was distinctly different to the Sri Lankan separatist war, he said.
"The truce in Aceh was achieved in a peaceful manner without bloodshed, while Sri Lanka ended its conflict with an armed settlement," Nur Juli said.

Sri Lanka was keen to learn how Indonesia had established peace in Aceh and reintegrated former GAM rebels into society, he said.

"We provide them with input on what Sri Lanka should do better to maintain peace and its reintegration process," Nur Juli added.