Australians speak on Aceh's history

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Three Australian historians will present their papers during a two-day seminar on Acehnese history, arts and culture to be held here starting Sept. 2.

Barbara Leigh, Lance Castle and Hendri Chambert Loir will speak at the seminar, which is part of the "1998 Acehnese Cultural Show", head of the provincial education office Malik Raden was quoted as saying by Antara here yesterday.

Malik said the Australian historians expressed interest in returning to Aceh where they once conducted research on the province's culture.

He said the cultural show, which will also feature the performances of Acehnese traditional arts, will be the first of its kind in the province.

He said it aimed to preserve the culture of Indonesia's westernmost province which has been dubbed the "Terrace of Mecca" due to its devout Moslem populace.

Indonesian historians who will speak in the seminar include Ibrahim Alfian and Hasan Muarif.