Australia pledges long-term help for Indonesia's Aceh

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd praised on Saturday the rebuilding of Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province and pledged that Canberra would remain a long-term partner.

Australia was the first nation to offer aid to Indonesia after the disaster, sending transport aircraft and military personnel, as well as millions of dollars in government cash.

Rudd, on the final leg of a Asian trip after visiting Japan, said it was unimaginable what had happened when the monster waves hit the province of Aceh, which lies on the northern tip of Sumatra island, after a huge quake on Dec. 26, 2004.

"I salute the courage of this community for having rebuilt this school," said Rudd, who reopened the Ulee Lheu Islamic school near the provincial capital of Banda Aceh that was reconstructed with Australian cash.

At least 297 out of 312 students were killed when the school was hit by the waves, while most teachers also died, he said.

"It's very much a practical example which I think speaks to the world at large about what a country like Australia, a Western country, predominantly Christian, can do in partnership with our friends here in Indonesia, the largest Muslim community in the world," said Rudd, who is keen to boost Australia's Asian ties.

The tsunami obliterated vast areas along the coast, leaving around 170,000 people dead or missing in the province. Many thousands more were killed in other Indian Ocean nations.

Rudd said that it was not only extraordinary how the community had rebuilt but also how the tragedy had been taken as an opportunity to help heal the wounds of years of conflict.

Aceh suffered three decades of fighting between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in which 15,000 people died. The conflict ended with the signing of a peace agreement in 2005, months after the tsunami.

The Australian prime minister paid tribute to his predecessor John Howard for rapidly pushing through a A$1 billion ($939 million) government aid package after the disaster.

"For the future, Australia also intends to be a long-term partner of the people of Aceh, in the community here in Banda Aceh, for the long-term economic development," Rudd said.

The Australian prime minister said in Jakarta on Friday that Australia and Indonesia were looking into setting up a regional centre to coordinate disaster relief.