Excellent
post giving some background (with links) on the situation in Aceh,
pre- and post-tsunami. It's not good.
A second and equally pernicious tragedy besets Sumatra. And this one (almost) no one's talking about. Indonesia has one of the most corrupt, incompetent and repressive governments in the entire world. Life may not be too miserable for you if you live in a place like Java or Bali. But in the outlying provinces like Irian Jaya and Aceh (Sumatra), life can be a living hell. Subject to the exploitation of multinational mineral extraction companies which use the Indonesian military to bolster their overwhelming control, the local population lives in fear and poverty. Perhaps that is why there are serious insurrections in both provinces.
