Military

DATE=2/20/05

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=TSUNAMI / BUSH-CLINTON (L)

NUMBER=2-322694

BYLINE= NANCY-AMELIA COLLINS

DATELINE=JAKARTA

// EDS: A Nancy Collins Q on the Tsunami story follows the text //

HEADLINE: Former US Presidents Bush and Clinton Tour Indonesia's Tsunami-Devastated Aceh Province

INTRO: Former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton toured Indonesia's Aceh region Sunday to see firsthand the destruction caused by the December 26th earthquake and tsunami that struck a dozen Indian Ocean countries. As VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins reports from Jakarta, the aim of their visit is to keep donor interest alive during the rebuilding phase.

TEXT: Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Sunday before flying to Aceh Province.

They discussed accountability and transparency in the distribution of aid.

Indonesia is ranked as one of the world's most corrupt countries but Mr. Yudhoyono reassured the former presidents aid money would be spent wisely.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton then flew over Aceh, much of which was destroyed by the tsunami. Roads and bridges are gone, and whole communities have been wiped out.

Mr. Clinton said he had never seen anything like the Aceh destruction. He estimated it would take three to five years for the region to recover.

More than 290-thousand people were killed by the December 26th tsunami, most of them in Aceh. More than a million were displaced.

Mr. Bush says he hopes their visit will help aid efforts.

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"What we want to do is just to be sure that we keep the interest of the American people up, the private sector so they will continue to generously support whatever efforts are determined best on the ground."

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President George Bush appointed his father and Bill Clinton to head American relief efforts, now totaling nearly one billion dollars.

An unprecedented five billion dollars has been pledged so far to help the countries affected by the tsunami, but Mr. Clinton says a further four to five billion will be needed.

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Security was tight during the former presidents' visit to Aceh, where separatists have been battling the government since 1976.

Indonesia will attend a second round of peace talks with the Aceh rebels in Finland Monday.

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Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton later flew to the U.S.S. Fort McHenry, the navy ship ferrying water, food and clothing to the needy. The former presidents have also been to Thailand and plan to visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives. (SIGNED)

Q: So Nancy, given the focus on relief efforts, has there been any reaction from the former presidents or Indonesian president Yudhoyono to Australia's warning Saturday that foreign aid workers may come under attack from terrorists, specifically in Aceh and other parts of Indonesia?

A: Well Indonesian President Yudhoyono has played down the possibility of attacks on foreigners. This is what he had to say during his latest tour of Aceh.

/// YUDHOYONO ACT ///

"There is no evidence that there will be a threat against the aid workers. But of course I would ask to my apparatus to maintain the harmony, to maintain coordination in synchronizing all emergency relief effort(s) done by many organizations, many citizens domestically as well as from the international community."

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While the Australian government hasn't released intelligence details, it is understandably nervous. Australians have been the victims of terror attacks in Indonesia in recent years. As you know, 88 Australians died in the Bali bombings in 2002 and their embassy in Jakarta was bombed last year, killing ten people, mostly Indonesians.

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