The topic is on the lips of almost every resident and the center of almost every conversation recently, as Hasan is set to end 32 years of self-imposed exile.

"I desperately want to see his face when he arrives," Banda Aceh resident Syaffudin told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Syafruddin was not yet born when Hasan left Aceh to found the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and lead the rebellion from overseas.

Syafudin, 25, said he knew of Hasan from media reports. He said that to satisfy his curiosity, he would follow all Hasan's activities during his stay in the province.

Hasan, now 88, is expected to be in Aceh for three weeks, a few days of which will be spent in his birthplace of Tiro. He will visit Kuala Lumpur before flying to Aceh.

"I believe almost all Acehnese wish to meet and greet him," said Ibrahim KBS, spokesman for the Aceh Transition Commission.

Thousands of former GAM members will welcome home their leader, Ibrahim added. The former rebels will come to the provincial capital Banda Aceh from 23 towns across the province.

Aceh Deputy Governor Muhammad Nazar acknowledged the significance Hasan's visit would have in sustaining peace in the province.

"He is among key figures behind the Aceh peace talks," Nazar said, referring to the peace pact signed in Helsinki in July 2005.

The Aceh government had earlier arranged for an informal meeting between Hasan and Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Banda Aceh on Saturday, but the event was called off on Tuesday.

"The cancellation is connected to the country's measures to anticipate the global financial crisis," said Nazar, who was in Jakarta on Tuesday to consult with government officials on the meeting.

A vice presidential aide said Kalla was scheduled to drop by Banda Aceh on Saturday during his visit to Sumatra this weekend, which will take him to the West Sumatra capital of Padang and the North Sumatra capital of Medan.

The cancellation, however, looks unable to dampen the enthusiasm of the Acehnese, according to Ibrahim. He said thousands of residents would welcome Hasan and hold dialogues with him.

The Aceh administration has yet to provide details of Hasan's itinerary during his stay in the province.

Aceh Police have prepared security arrangements for the visit, but will not provide an escort, said the force's head of operational bureau, Sr. Comr. Gufhron.

"Such treatment is given only to state guests. Hasan is an ordinary foreign citizen who is visiting his home soil," he said.

Ibrahim said the Aceh transitional commission would deploy its members to guard Hasan during his stay in the province. The guards are former GAM combatants who have undergone overseas training, including in Libya.

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