ICAIOS HOLDS INTERN'L CONFAB ON ACEH CONFLICT

Banda Aceh, Feb 22 (ANTARA) - An international conference on Aceh and Indian Ocean studies (ICAIOS) will be held for two days starting Monday (Feb 23) to discuss civil conflicts and how to overcome them.

"The conference will be held in tWo places, at the post-graduate building of the Ar Raniry state Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) and at the Dayan Dawood Center of Academic Activities (AAC) of Universitas Syiah Kuala (Unsyiah)," senior researcher at the Asia-Pacific Studies of the Renvall Institute, University of Helsinki, Dr Leena Avonius told the press in Banda Aceh on Sunday.
The conference is the result of a cooperation between the Asia Research Institute of NUS (National University of Singapore), and the newly established ICAIOS Centre at the Universitas Syiah Kuala campus in Banda Aceh.
The conference will this time deal with civil conflicts and seek ways and means to overcome them in view of the long standing Aceh conflict with the Indonesian government since 1953 but already settled under the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The Helsinki MoU of 2005 had developed optimism and had made Aceh an important place in history.
The keynote speakers at the conference included one-time Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari who is also a Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr Rizal Sukma of the CSIS, Jakarta, and a representive of the Sidney Jones International Crisis Group.
The conference will also focus on the history, economy, culture, religion and gender in Aceh.