T

he 2005 Aceh peace pact has provided inspiration for Sri Lanka in its handling of social reintegration issues after its 26-year war with the Tamil Tigers.

The pact had encouraged the Sri Lankan government to "learn from and share experiences *with Indonesia*," on how to overcome problems in keeping peace.

Bansil Rajapaksa, a special advisor to the Sri Lankan president, arrived in Aceh on Wednesday for a two-day fact-finding mission for this purpose.

Upon his arrival, Rajapaksa met with the Aceh Reintegration Body (BRA) that deals with socio-political problems pertaining to former combatants of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

In May 2009, the Sri Lankan government declared that the 26-year conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was over.

Its military claimed it had defeated rebels and killed LTTE's elusive leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran.

The group conceded defeat and in a statement that said it had decided to lay down its arms.

The Wednesday meeting between Rajapaksa and BRA leader Nur Juli revealed that the Sri Lankan government is facing post-conflict problems, especially in the reintegration of former LTTE combatants and other citizens.

The Aceh separatist conflict typically had similarities with the conflicts involving the Tamil Tigers, Rajapaksa said.

But the peace process in Aceh was distinctly different to the Sri Lankan separatist war, he said.

"The truce in Aceh was achieved in a peaceful manner without bloodshed, while Sri Lanka ended its conflict with an armed settlement," Nur Juli said.

Sri Lanka was keen to learn how Indonesia had established peace in Aceh and reintegrated former GAM rebels into society, he said.

"We provide them with input on what Sri Lanka should do better to maintain peace and its reintegration process," Nur Juli added.

During his visit, Rajapaksa was also trying to persuade some 55 Sri Lankan boat people stranded in Aceh to return home. The illegal immigrants, allegedly fleeing political unrest in Sri Lanka, arrived in Banda Aceh in mid-May 2009.

Storms and waves reportedly destroyed their wooden boat, which sunk en-route to Christmas Island, Australia, where they were seeking political asylum.

Rajapaksa, speaking after a meeting with Aceh Governor Irwandy Yusuf, said the Sri Lankan government would guarantee the immigrants' safety should they return home voluntarily.

Rajapaksa said he was dealing with Indonesia's Foreign Ministry to repatriate the boat people.

However, the Sri Lankan authorities would not force the immigrants to return, he said.

In a related development, Aceh's immigration office had to separate five of the 55 immigrants from the group. "This group, known as the Kumar gang, has often encouraged other immigrants to refuse repatriation to their country," Aceh's meulaboh immigration office chief Suryo Santoso said.