Aceh martial law could be lifted

By Rachel Harvey
BBC correspondent in Jakarta

Indonesia declared martial law in Aceh last May

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has suggested that martial law could be lifted in the troubled province of Aceh in two months' time.

Mrs Megawati spoke during her first visit to the province since ordering a military offensive against separatist rebels last May.

The operation was launched after the collapse of an internationally-backed peace process.

The army claims to have killed more than 1,400 suspected rebels.

But human rights campaigners say many innocent civilians have been among the victims.

'Major logistics'

Providing security for President Megawati's brief visit to Aceh was a major logistical exercise.

Two thousand police officers and soldiers were present, with several armoured vehicles on the ground - and a good few military aircraft patrolling the skies.

But the fact that it was deemed safe for her to be in the province at all is a measure of the success the military has had in gaining control of most major towns.

Mrs Megawati told a select audience of government officials and religious leaders she was hopeful that conditions would have improved sufficiently to allow martial law to be lifted when the current mandate expires in May.

Active fighting force

But it is unlikely that ending the military emergency would mean an end to military operations.

The rebels have been pushed back into the mountains and remote rural areas, but they remain an active fighting force.

The military leadership has vowed to wipe out the separatist movement once and for all - but it is taking a lot longer than their over-confident early predictions suggested.

Given that Indonesia faces elections in four weeks' time, Mrs Megawati's talk of lifting martial law in Aceh is probably more to do with politics than military strategy.