Hopes rise for Aceh peace deal

By Rachel Harvey
BBC News

Aceh's rebels have been waging a 30-year struggle for independence

Indonesian government officials and members of the rebel separatist movement in Aceh have started a fifth round of peace talks.

The talks, which are being held in Helsinki, were first initiated in the wake of December's tsunami that killed at least 120,000 people in Aceh.

A previous peace deal broke down in May 2003 amid bitter recriminations.

But both sides are now talking positively about the chances of reaching an agreement.

They want to try to resolve the three decades-old conflict in the province.

Over the past four rounds of what are described as informal talks, the two sides appear to have made progress on many of the broad issues at stake.

ACEH: ESSENTIAL FACTS Located on the northern tip of Sumatra island Population of 4.3m people Rich fuel resources, including oil and natural gas Gam rebels have been fighting for an independent state

The rebels have agreed to some form of self-government within the Republic of Indonesia, rather than push for full independence.

In return, Aceh is likely to be offered a far greater share of revenues from its rich natural resources, including oil and gas.

But significant hurdles still need to be overcome, including the question of political representation. The rebels wanted to be able to form their own local political party, but this has been rejected by the government.

Instead a compromise may be sought, whereby individual rebel commanders could stand for election as mayors or district heads, presumably as independents or under the auspices of one of the existing national parties.

The other outstanding issue is how to demilitarise the province.

The Indonesian military has ruled out an immediate ceasefire, saying the rebels must first disarm. The rebels, in turn, want all government troops to be withdrawn from Aceh.

Meanwhile nationalists in parliament have been vocal in criticising the entire negotiating process, saying there should be no deals with separatists.

The two negotiating teams are talking optimistically about the chances of reaching an agreement in principle.

But selling that agreement back home, and then making it stick, will present new and potentially more difficult challenges.