Jakarta – Commander in Chief of the TNI, General Endriartono Sutarto said he hoped that all sides in Aceh, incluuding the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) would not bring up mistakes that occurred in the past. He asked all those concerned to think about the future so as to enable the Acehnese to re-build their region.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military, often accused of human rights violations, is likely to stick to a fresh peace pact in Aceh province despite frustrations over concessions to separatist rebels, analysts said.

I. Christianto, Contributor, Helsinki – In spite of the amnesty offered by the Indonesian government to all people linked to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), many of them who are living in exile overseas have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, with no immediate plans to return home.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed an historic peace agreement, though not the first, on Monday in Helsinki, Finland.

Noted lawyer and human rights activist Todung Mulya Lubis, who is on the board of the Jakarta-based Tifa Foundation focusing on empowering civil society, shared his thoughts with The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Following the signed peace deal between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group, Aceh will still adhere to most of the key fiscal and monetary policies set by the central government with some exceptions.

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) faced its first test on Wednesday when plainclothes police threatened rebels who were released from the Jantho penitentiary in Aceh Besar regency.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A number of politicians have voiced strong criticism of the Aceh peace deal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with opposition bloc the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) demanding a court ruling to revoke it.

Allan Nairn – The TNI/POLRI is now saying that they have about 35,000 men in Aceh, which, if true, would mean that under the Helsinki deal with GAM signed yesterday they will be temporarily withdrawing about 32% of their troops, not much more than a normal rotation.

Allan Nairn – In Central Aceh, the TNI has an ethnic Javanese and Gayo militia force that is estimated to be larger than the Aceh-wide GAM. An investigator who speaks the local Gayo language puts their strength at 12,000 people and 6,000 weapons – some homemade, some military issue.

Helsinki – After having been at conflict for almost 30 years, the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have made a historical step by signing a peace agreement.

Both parties still have differences of opinion in terms of human rights violation trials.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta - If former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members are granted amnesty, then what about the fate of convicted activists and political prisoners jailed as a result of the Aceh conflict?

Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to honor a historic agreement with separatist rebels from Aceh province and has urged the guerrillas to do the same.

Following are key passages from a seven-page Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group, signed on Monday in Helsinki.

Speakers: Malik Mahmood, GAM chief negotiator; Hamid Aaluddin, Indonesian Justice Minister; Allan Nairn, award-winning journalist and activist. His article on the Aceh peace agreement can be found at newsc.blogspot.com

Dan Eaton, Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military and Acehnese rebels on Tuesday cautiously welcomed a peace pact but each expressed doubts the other would stick to the deal.

Associated Press in Banda Aceh – As a ship carrying hundreds of troops leaves Aceh's port, soldiers and police wonder if an accord being signed by the Indonesian government and separatist rebels today will bring lasting peace to the province.

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – An atmosphere of peace prevailed in Aceh ahead of an historic day that many hope will mark an end to almost three decades of bloodshed.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – The gunfire that marked 30 years of bitter secessionist fighting in Aceh has given way to another sound – the beating of 114 traditional rapai drums during a ceremony abandoned during the years of fighting.

Banda Aceh – Separatist guerrillas in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh will respect a peace pact to be signed with the government, one of their top spokesmen said.

Helsinki – The Indonesian government and Muslim Aceh rebels signed a historic peace accord aimed at ending decades of bloodshed in a region devastated by last year's tsunami.

All hostilities were to end with the signing of the agreement, under which the separatists dropped their long-held demands for independence and agreed to disarm and demobilise their soldiers.

AK-17, Banda Aceh - A day before the signing of the peace agreement, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has protested the continued presence of TNI (armed forces) controlled militia in Aceh. This was conveyed by GAM's spokesperson Bachtiar Abdullah in a press release received by Aceh Kita on Sunday August 14.

Allan Nairn – Today (August 15, 2005) the Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) will sign a deal with the government of Indonesia under which they agree to disarm and accept amnesty, money and farmland.

Stockholm – Rebel leaders from Aceh accused the Indonesian government of failing to disarm militias in the province, a day before both sides are to sign a landmark peace deal in Helsinki.

Banda Aceh – Hopes are high that a peace deal to be signed Monday will finally end decades of bloodshed between troops and separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province, but analysts warn the road to lasting peace will not be smooth.

Alan Sipress, Lhok Bubon – The massive tsunami that crashed into Sumatra island in December ripped Ibu Yusniar's home from its concrete foundation. But while the stout woman survived, wrapping her arms around a column in a nearby mosque to ride out the surging waters, nature was not through.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – With the Helsinki peace deal only a few days away, some Acehnese figures urged the government on Thursday to prepare the technicalities for a plan to grant amnesty to former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members and return them to the community.

Jakarta – People in war-torn Aceh province are cautiously optimistic that three decades of fighting will come to an end when the Indonesian government signs a peace agreement with separatist rebels early next week.

Almost all have lost family members – either to the long-running conflict or to last year's tsunami – and want to see an end to their suffering.

The Free Aceh movement or GAM and the Indonesian government will sign an agreement in Helsinki next Monday designed to bring an end to hostilities in Aceh province.

Melbourne academic Dr Damien Kingsbury is political adviser to GAM. He spoke to Sen Lam at London's Heathrow airport, enroute to Helsinki.

Sweden – After a mere five meetings, The Free Acheh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government is scheduled to sign a historic agreement on August 15 in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. Though the full details of the agreement have yet to be disclosed, the substantial points of the draft have been widely analysed and published in the media.

Jakarta – Efforts to end three decades of bloodshed in Aceh received a major boost on Tuesday as the government secured full support from the House of Representatives for its peace agreement with the rebels in the province.

The following is abridged from a July 27 article by Thamrin Ananda, the chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA).

The negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to resolve the Aceh question peacefully, which concluded on July 17 in Helsinki, are not the first to be mediated by a foreign institution.

Scott Baldauf, Banda Aceh – When the tsunami came to sweep away her seaside home, her three children, and her husband, Yuniarti thought that she had lost everything she could possibly lose.

Jakarta – The leaders of the House of Representatives are divided on whether or not the body's official seal of approval is needed for the peace agreement between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to become legally effective.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military says it is readying its troops in case a peace agreement with rebels in Aceh province collapses.

The accord, which will be formally signed Monday in Finland, is seen as the best chance yet to end three decades of fighting that has killed 15,000 people. But several earlier accords have collapsed amid bitter mistrust on both sides.

AK-41, Bandung – The All-Java Aceh Social Forum in Bandung has succeeded in reaching an agreement to support the signing of the Helsinki peace agreement. The signing of the agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will take place in Helsinki on August 15.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – There is a saying in Aceh, meunyo ka dimeusurapai uroe lageum dipiyoh dimeusu budee, meaning that weapons should stop firing when the rapai drum is beaten.

Lhokseumawe – According to Iskandar Muda Military chief Maj. Gen. Supiadin AS, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has withdrawn its troops from the forests and villages of Aceh.

This is aimed at giving members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) the opportunities to gather and ready themselves to collect their weapons and matters.

Alisa P, Jakarta – The demilitarisation phase covered under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement will proceed over a period of three months.

AK-7 & AK-26, Lhokseumawe – Speaking in Lhokseumawe on Friday August 5, the commander of the Iskandar Muda territorial military command, Major General Supiadin AS, said that there are parties who want to thwart the signing of the peace agreement between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on August 15.

Miswar, Banda Aceh – August 15 will be a historical moment for the Acehnese people, because on that day the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government will be signed.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Human rights activists have urged the government to release all Aceh civilians accused of involvement in the separatist group there after a peace deal is signed later this month.

AK-25, Jakarta – The defense department is still pursuing its plan for budget increases for the security operation in Aceh. A budget of as much as 526 billion rupiah is needed to pay for troops and the military operation in Aceh until December 2005.

Niken Widya Yunita, Jakarta – The position of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction, which has persisted in opposing negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), has received a cool response from the government.

Yuswardi A.Suud, Banda Aceh – After being withdrawn from the forests and mountains of Aceh, TNI (armed forces) troops will be placed in posts on the outskirts of the forests and only allowed to move within a radius of 750 metres from their post.

Jakarta – The government is now focused on formulating a dispute settlement mechanism, if violence arises after the peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been signed.

Jakarta – The United States congratulated Indonesia Wednesday for reaching a draft peace deal with rebels in Aceh province, and said the accord would make it easier for Washington to resume frozen military-to-military ties with Jakarta.

AK-25, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has declared it will grant amnesty to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and activists accused of subversive acts against the state. Amnesty will not only be granted to those who have been found guilty by the courts but also to those in detention who have yet to face trial.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Despite earlier opposition, leaders of Indonesia's parliament now appear to be willing to allow provincial-based political parties to be established in Aceh. This was a major sticking point in finalising the peace agreement reached between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government in Helsinki on July 17.

AK-41, Bandung – The Acehnese community from the Bandung Community of Acehnese Families (Keluarga Masyarakat Aceh Bandung, Kamaba) will hold an all-Java Acehnese Society Dialogue Forum on August 7 in Bandung with the theme "The role and attitude of Acehnese civil society in Java Island on the Helsinki negotiations".

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – Support for the Aceh peace negotiations is strengthening. Acehnese non-government organisations have asked the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) to support the negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki.