Foreign observers to tour Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam: Twenty-three visiting European and Southeast Asian officials are scheduled to start touring several regions in Aceh on Friday.

The delegation arrived in Aceh on Wednesday to make logistical preparations for the monitoring mission.

The Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) tentatively reached a deal on July 17 to end 29 years of fighting and asked the European Union and its Southeast Asian neighbors to play a monitoring role once the pact is signed on Aug. 15 in Helsinki.

The team's tour will start in Sigli in Pidie and proceed to Bireun, Lhokseumawe, Langsa, Tapaktuan, Meulaboh and Calang.

"We'll do preparations and a field check on the areas which will be monitored," Justin David, who led the European team, said in Banda Aceh on Thursday. The team is scheduled to leave Aceh on Aug. 9. -- JP