Indonesia, Aceh rebels to hold peace talks in Helsinki
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-08 16:24

Indonesian officials will meet separatist rebels from the tsunami-hit province of Aceh for a third round of peace talks in Finland next week, a mediator said, but there was slim hope of progress.

The six-day discussions will start next Tuesday on the outskirts of Helsinki, according to Meeri-Mariia Jaarva of the Crisis Management Initiative, a non-government group that has organised the talks.

Rebels of the Free Aceh Movement have been fighting for 28 years for a separate homeland in the western province, accusing Jakarta of plundering the region's mineral wealth while leaving its people trapped in poverty.

Leaders of the separatist Free Aceh Movement, Zaini Abdullah, Malik Mahmud, Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, Nurdin Abdul Rahman, Bakhtiar Abdullah, Nur Djuli pose for a photo in Helsinki as they hold peace negotiations with Indonesian government delegation earlier in the year. Indonesian officials will meet separatist rebels from the tsunami-hit province of Aceh for a third round of peace talks in Finland next week, a mediator said. [AFP/File]

The last formal ceasefire between the two sides broke down in May 2003 as Indonesia launched a major military assault to crush the rebels, placing the province under martial rule and barring foreign press and aid workers.

But the conflict took a new turn in the wake of the December 26 tsunami, which killed more than 126,000 people in Aceh and destroyed vast areas of coastline, when both sides agreed to return to the negotiating table.

The first two rounds of discussions, also in Helsinki, have focused on a government offer to grant Aceh special autonomy, with the rebels indicating they may drop demands for full independence if certain conditions are met.

"The next talks will cover similar issues as the previous talking rounds: the special autonomy, security arrangements, economic relations, amnesty, outside monitoring etc.," Jaarva said in an email from Helsinki.

She said that while the willingness from both sides to return to the table was a positive sign, it could take some time to resolve more than a quarter century of fighting.

"We are pleased that both sides have agreed to continue the process of negotiations, but as the conflict has been going on for such a long time, and there are many difficult issues to be settled, one should remain realistic about the outcome of the talks," she said.

Demak Lubis, head of the Aceh desk at Indonesia's security ministry, said the schedule for next week's talks was tentative and Jakarta was unwilling to give new ground to the rebels, known by the Indonesian acronym GAM.

"Our position is clear that the only solution to the Aceh conflict is special autonomy and that GAM should return to the fold of the unitary state of Indonesia," he said.

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