Indonesia's Aceh to have sharia law

The governor of the Indonesian province of Aceh, Abdullah Puteh, has announced the imposition of Islamic Sharia law there.

After a meeting with the Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, he said that the president will personally inaugurate the implementation of Sharia law during a visit later this month.

The announcement coincides with the twenty-fourth anniversary of the founding of the Free Aceh Movement; separatists in the province have been marking the day by hoisting hundreds of flags, which police have been removing.

A spokesman for the movement told the BBC that it welcomes the imposition of Sharia law, but this will not affect its demands for independence.

But a legal expert said that the imposition of Islamic law could exacerbate tensions in the province. Aceh would be the first Indonesian province to have sharia law.

The announcement comes just two days after President Wahid offered the province a ten-million dollar aid package.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service