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Friday, 21 January, 2005, 08:48 GMT

Yudhoyono pledge to rebuild Aceh

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, centre, prays with former President Abdurrahman Wahid, right, at an Eid Al-Adha prayer service at Raya Baiturrahman Mosque Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to rebuild the devastated province of Aceh, which bore the brunt of the tsunami disaster.

The president spoke after prayers at the province's biggest mosque, to mark the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

"I ask our brothers and sisters here to look ahead, to rebuild Aceh for a better future," he said.

The visit came as the Indonesian army claimed to have killed 120 separatist rebels in the last two weeks.

The head of the Indonesian armed forces, Gen Endriartono Sutarto, backed the claim, first made on Thursday by army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu.

Gen Sutarto told the AP news agency that the army had to take action against the rebels because they were attempting to derail the aid effort.

At least 160,000 Indonesians are now thought to have died as a result of the 26 December earthquake and tsunami. About 500,000 more are thought to be homeless and reliant on aid.

President Yudhoyono attended a service to mark Eid al-Adha - which commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God - at the Baituraman mosque in Banda Aceh.

ACEH: KEY FACTS

The first Eid after the tsunami

Jakarta's chance for change

Aceh's Gam separatists

"We are now developing a master plan," Mr Yudhoyono said.

"Based on the plan, we will... build infrastructure, build roads and revive the people's economy. There are a lot of things to do in the coming days," he said.

The mosque's Imam reflected in his sermon on the powerful forces of nature which have caused such devastation in Aceh.

But he also touched on the separatist conflict, saying he hoped that after the disaster, the rebels would stop fighting and instead help to develop Aceh.

A BBC correspondent in Aceh, Rachel Harvey, says that for his part, President Yudhoyono was careful to avoid politics, preferring instead to focus on the symbolism of the occasion.

Eid al-Adha is a day of sacrifice, when cattle and goats are slaughtered and their meat distributed among the poor.

In front of a huge crowd outside the mosque, Mr Yudhoyono handed over a large bull.

"I make this offer with all my heart" he said. "We've been through a trial but God willing, together we will be able to rebuild Aceh again."

However, reports from isolated villages throughout Aceh indicated that many remote communities are still desperate for relief supplies.

In the village of Panga, Indonesian soldiers had to fire warning shots in the air to control crowds desperate for supplies airlifted in by US helicopters.

Our correspondent says that for Aceh's people, the festival brings mixed feelings. People have looked forward to Eid al-Adha as a mark of normality and structure, but coming together is also reminder of all those lost.

Foreign forces

Mr Yudhoyono played down earlier statements by his armed forces that foreign troops helping the relief effort in Aceh should pull out by 26 March, calling it "a timeline, not a deadline".

"Indonesia has to have a plan, we have to have a target," he said.

"After 26 March, there might still be international presence - the equipment, the personnel or the expertise that are needed in order to work."

Admiral Thomas Fargo, head of the US Pacific Command, which deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln battle group to Aceh in the wake of the tsunami, said relief work was gradually shifting to reconstruction.

"We still start right now transferring functions to the appropriate host nation and international organisations," Adm Fargo said.




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