Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Clinton Named as Tsunami Reconstruction Supremo

Former US President Bill Clinton became the UN point man for post-tsunami reconstruction as Australia’s leader headed today to Indonesia’s battered region of Aceh for a first-hand glimpse of the disaster.

No one could better ensure that the world does not forget the needs of countries devastated by the December 26 disaster than Clinton, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in an announcement early today in Asia.

Clinton, who said he looked forward to his new role, also was tasked to help resolve conflicts with rebels in the two worst-hit countries – Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

“President Clinton will bring energy, dynamism and focus to the task of sustaining world interest in the vital recovery and reconstruction phase,” a UN statement said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard planned to witness the plight of tsunami survivors in Aceh, as well as meet with aid workers and engineers from his country who are there to clear wreckage and reconnect water supplies.

Plans moved ahead to install a monitoring system in the Indian Ocean to warn coastal areas of tsunami dangers. The UN said it is developing an interim system to serve until there is a full-fledged network, which is not expected until mid-2006.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency and the IOC Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii were working together to provide the Indian Ocean region with information and warnings.

It would be “a first step to prevent a repeat of the horrendous toll” in the December 26 tsunami, the UN said in a statement.

The death toll Wednesday ranged from about 157,000 to 178,000 across 11 nations hit by the disaster, reflecting separate agency tolls in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. With estimates of up to 142,000 missing, more than a quarter-million people may have been lost.

Meanwhile, the custody battle over “Baby 81,” the wide-eyed boy found alive among bodies and debris left by the Asian tsunami, goes to a Sri Lankan court today.

Nine women have claimed the child as their own, though one couple has emerged as the presumed parents of Baby 81, named for his status as the 81st admission to the hospital the day the tsunami struck. Expectations were high the judge would order a DNA test to confirm the claim.

Murugupillai Jeyarajah and his wife, 25-year-old Jenita, hoped the court would simply hand the child over to them. They say his name is Abilass and he was born October 19.

“I believe in God, and I am sure my baby will be given to me,” said Jeyarajah, a 31-year-old barber.