Foreign observers to tour Aceh

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