Japan's tsunami anniv. commemorated in Indonesia's Aceh

Japan's tsunami anniv. commemorated in Indonesia's Aceh

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Junior high school students form a kanji letter of the Japanese word ''kizuna,'' which means bonds or connections between people, during a ceremony in the village of Peukan Bada, near Indonesia's Aceh provincial capital Banda Aceh on March 11, 2013, to commemorate the second anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

Aceh after tsunami

Aceh after tsunami

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The main part of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh, Indonesia, is seen restored in April 2010 from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The photo taken Dec. 5, 2009 shows some post-tsunami pictures kept at the Aceh Tsunami Museum in the Aceh provincial capital Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Controversial since its costly construction, the museum is now neglected.

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The photo taken on Dec. 5, 2009 shows a back view of the Aceh Tsunami Museum, which looks like a ship, in the Aceh Provincial capital Banda Aceh. Controversial since its costly construction, the museum is now neglected.

5 years on, it's still a struggle to travel in western Aceh

5 years on, it's still a struggle to travel in western Aceh

LAMBEUSO, Indonesia - This photo taken Dec. 6, 2009 in Lambeuso in Aceh Province, Indonesia, shows an ambulance crossing the Lambeuso River on a wooden raft to pick up a patient in the town of Calang in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, about 155 kilometers away. The reconstruction of a highway and bridges, devastated by the 2004 tsunami, on the western coast of the province has been halted.

Acehnese flock to mass graves to mark deadly 2004 tsunami

Acehnese flock to mass graves to mark deadly 2004 tsunami

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Two men who lost their relatives in the Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated Aceh Province in Indonesia in December 2004 pray for the victims at mass graves in the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Dec. 26. The tsunami left more than 170,000 people dead or missing.

(2)Photos from tsunami-hit regions

(2)Photos from tsunami-hit regions

SABAN, Indonesia - Japanese ground troops load relief tents into a helicopter Jan. 26 in Saban, some 40 kilometers north of Banda Aceh, for transport to the Aceh provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

(2)Photos from tsunami-hit regions

(2)Photos from tsunami-hit regions

SABAN, Indonesia - Japanese ground troops load relief tents into a helicopter Jan. 26 in Saban, some 40 kilometers north of Banda Aceh, for transport to the Aceh provincial capital of Banda Aceh. (Kyodo)

Acehnese flock to mass graves to mark deadly 2004 tsunami

Acehnese flock to mass graves to mark deadly 2004 tsunami

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Two men who lost their relatives in the Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated Aceh Province in Indonesia in December 2004 pray for the victims at mass graves in the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Dec. 26. The tsunami left more than 170,000 people dead or missing. (Kyodo)

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The photo taken on Dec. 5, 2009 shows a back view of the Aceh Tsunami Museum, which looks like a ship, in the Aceh Provincial capital Banda Aceh. Controversial since its costly construction, the museum is now neglected. (Kyodo)

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

Controversial, costly Aceh tsunami museum neglected

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The photo taken Dec. 5, 2009 shows some post-tsunami pictures kept at the Aceh Tsunami Museum in the Aceh provincial capital Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Controversial since its costly construction, the museum is now neglected. (Kyodo)

5 years on, it's still a struggle to travel in western Aceh

5 years on, it's still a struggle to travel in western Aceh

LAMBEUSO, Indonesia - This photo taken Dec. 6, 2009 in Lambeuso in Aceh Province, Indonesia, shows an ambulance crossing the Lambeuso River on a wooden raft to pick up a patient in the town of Calang in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, about 155 kilometers away. The reconstruction of a highway and bridges, devastated by the 2004 tsunami, on the western coast of the province has been halted. (Kyodo)

Heavily armed Indonesian police patrol Aceh

Heavily armed Indonesian police patrol Aceh

ACEH, Indonesia - Indonesian policemen in a truck patrol provincial areas in North Aceh in December 1999 where rice-planting was under way. The police were heavily armed against separatist guerrillas. (4th of 5-photo series on Aceh)

Aceh after tsunami

Aceh after tsunami

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The main part of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh, Indonesia, is seen restored in April 2010 from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. (Kyodo)