The Free Aceh Movement in Indonesia announced an immediate ceasefire to assist rehabilitation efforts. But the impact of the waters is more likely to be divisive than unifying in the longer term.
The idea that shared suffering could allow rifts between divided communities to heal was quickly quashed. That the tsunami affected so many different countries increased its politicisation.
Foreign intervention is unpalatable in many capitals – India and Thailand quickly announced that they would not accept assistance from other governments, to demonstrate their growing political importance and, in India’s case, because of strategic concerns relating to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Subsequently, Indonesia too, said that foreign military assistance would not be welcome after April.
