RI ready to receive back Aceh tsunami evacuees from Malaysia: envoy

"We cannot continue asking Malaysia to accomodate the 24,000 Acehnese who were evacuated (to Malaysia) because of the December 26, 2004 tsunami," Indonesian Ambassadsor to Malaysia Da`i Bachtiar said here Thursday.

Bachtiar made the remark in response to the call made on the Indonesian government by a prominent Acehnese figure in Malaysia, Basri bin Yusuf, to lobby the Malaysian government to extend the Acehnese evacuees` stay permits.

He said the Acehnese displaced persons could return to Aceh to develop their own region as Aceh had received great amounts of autonomy funds, was safe again and no longer being ravaged by armed coflict.

The envoy said the Malaysian government had greatly helped the Acehnese who were evacuated due to the 2004 tsunami which claimed no fewer than 200,000 lives.

The Malaysian government would continue to give work permits to Acehnese who carried "tsunami cards" and had permanent jobs.

The tsunami cards would be replaced by work permit cards while jobless Acehnese would be deported to Aceh, Bachtiar said.

The Malaysian government accomodated ...