Indonesia, Aceh Rebels Reach Tentative Peace Pact

The Indonesian government and rebels from Aceh province reached a tentative agreement in talks here Saturday to end one of the world’s longest-running wars, negotiators from both sides said.

The draft accord, which hinged on an agreement to allow the separatist Free Aceh Movement to form its own political party, still has to be endorsed by the government in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, before the two sides can initial it.

“We have worked out a mutually acceptable form of words on political parties” in the draft accord, said Damien Kingsbury, an Australian academic who is part of the Acehnese delegation in the Finnish capital. “This should in principle finalize the negotiations.”

Indonesian Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin, who is heading the government delegation, declined to disclose details about the draft, saying it would be finalized today.

“Thank God, finally we had sort of an understanding together,” he said.

The rebels have shelved their demand for independence but insist on the right to form a local political party in Aceh, an oil- and gas-rich province on Sumatra island that has been racked by conflict since 1976 and was ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami on Dec. 26.

Indonesia allows only nationally based political groups, an effort to prevent far-flung regions of the ethnically and religiously diverse archipelago from trying to break away. Currently, every party must have representation in at least half of the 32 provinces and must be based in Jakarta.

On demilitarization, the parties agreed that at least 300 foreign observers would oversee the process.