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".

Jakarta – Three members of the European Union peace monitoring team arrived in Aceh on Saturday, more than two weeks ahead of the scheduled arrival of the full peace mission.

The three monitors are Dutch national Pieter Feith, and Finns Jaakko Oksanen and Juha Christensen.

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – Support for the government on the draft agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is growing. The National Deliberative Council VII of the Indonesian Ulamas Council (MUI) [Ulama - Islamic religious leader] has declared it support the results of the Helsinki negotiations.

AK-9, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Human Rights Coalition has found 482 cases of human rights violations over the last 14 months. The period investigated by the coalition was between May 2004 to June 2005.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has prepared a contingency plan to anticipate possible violations of the Aceh peace agreement scheduled for signing on Aug. 15.

Jakarta – Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president of Indonesia, says she does not agree with the existence of local parties in Aceh.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Scores of people calling themselves the Commandos for the Defense of the Fatherland (Komando Bela Tanah Air, Kombat) demonstrated at the offices of Vice President Jusuf Kalla. The demonstrators were urging the government to end negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – Hundreds of youths from the Commandos for the Defense of the Fatherland (Komando Bela Tanah Air, Kombat) demonstrated in front of the offices of Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta.

The government's decision to allow the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and other groups in Aceh to set up their own local political parties has been called quite controversial. The Jakarta Post's Sri Wahyuni talked to political expert Pratikno of Gadjah Mada University about the issue. The following are excerpts from the interview.

Jakarta – The Acehnese people are looking forward to the signing of the peace deal scheduled for Aug. 15 but fear a repetition of the short-lived calm and freedoms that followed earlier botched agreements.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Aceh claim their hard-won draft peace agreement with Jakarta has been endangered by an accelerating military campaign of intimidation and violence in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province.

Ali Imran, Meulaboh – People in Meulaboh, West Aceh, are again starting to feel concerned after the appearance of a sticker which they are obliged to buy and display on their motorbikes. This has been felt especially by those who own motorbikes who are racing to get hold of the sticker to ensure they are safe from sweeps by local security forces.

James Balowski, Jakarta – A historic peace agreement has been reached between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) following a fifth round of negotiations in Helsinki, Finland, which ended on July 17.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Several leaders of the House of Representatives have expressed support for the government's plan to allow members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to set up local political parties, a key GAM demand for a lasting peace deal in Aceh but which has been opposed by some lawmakers.

Jakarta – After earlier inviting a number of figures from the political parties to discuss the Helsinki negotiations, on Monday July 24, Vice President Jusuf Kalla held follow up discussions with a number of party faction leaders from the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) at his official residence on Jalan Diponegoro.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government said on Thursday that not all members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) would receive amnesty, with those being jailed for criminal offenses remaining in jail.

State Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil said that only political prisoners would be released.

The government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are scheduled to sign a peace deal on Aug. 15 in Helsinki, Finland. The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland spoke with Imam Syuja, an Acehnese legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN) about peace prospects in the war-torn province. The following are some of the highlights of their conversation:

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the Indonesian Military (TNI) to stop its offensive against Aceh rebels in a bid to facilitate the signing of peace deal scheduled for Aug. 15 in Jakarta.

Robin McDowell, Jakarta – The Indonesian government said Wednesday it would start withdrawing troops from Aceh in September as part of a pact with rebels to end three decades of fighting that has killed 15,000 people.

The United States said that a peaceful settlement to the 30-year separatist conflict in Indonesia's Aceh province was within sight, following a deal reached between the government and rebels.

Jakarta – The reaction was mixed in the House of Representatives on Monday to the draft peace deal signed by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), with some legislators questioning GAM's main demand to establish a local political party in the province.

Andrew Burrell, Jakarta – A landmark peace deal between the Indonesian government and Aceh separatists still faces big hurdles after Jakarta legislators vowed yesterday to block moves to allow the rebels to form local political parties.

Ellen Nakashima, Jakarta – A peace deal aimed at ending 30 years of military conflict between Acehnese separatist rebels and the government was almost derailed just before it was accepted on Sunday afternoon.

We welcomed negotiations between Indonesia and Acheh, but warn that without real external support, preferably from the UN, any deals done are doomed to failure. Achenese negotiators are of course between a rock and a hard place, but had to use the window of Tsunami scrutiny to their maximum advantage. Instead it appears the TNI has set the agendas.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's willingness to go the last mile on Aceh appears to have won the day in Helsinki, where government negotiators and separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels have finally reached a tentative peace accord to end 30 years of fighting.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has said the government would send military troops to Aceh if the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) broke its commitment to hand in their weapons as part of a peace accord agreed in Helsinki on Sunday.

Achmad Sukarsono, Banda Aceh – People in Aceh reacted cautiously on Monday to a deal aimed at ending 30 years of civil war in the Indonesian province devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunami.

Unlike an agreement reached in late 2002 that had Acehnese crowding newspaper stalls for the details, the new deal failed to distract people from going about business as usual.

Helsinki – The Indonesian government and Acehnese rebels have reached a groundbreaking agreement to end 30 years of fighting in Aceh province and a memorandum of understanding will be formally signed next month.

Final Text - Confidential, Not To Be Distributed

The Government of Indonesia (GoI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) confirm their commitment to a peaceful, comprehensive and sustainable solution to the conflict in Aceh with dignity for all.

Dimas Adityo, Jakarta – Within three months after a peace deal is agreed to between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the separatist group's arms will be surrendered and destroyed. In concert with this said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, non-organic TNI (armed forces) troops will be withdrawn from Aceh in stages.

Sunariah, Jakarta - The TNI (armed forces) is ready to withdraw its troops from Aceh if it is part of an agreement reached in Helsinki between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Indonesia's government and Aceh rebels have reached a peace deal to end a 29-year insurgency in the tsunami-devastated province, a top Indonesian official said Sunday.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rejected a key political demand by rebels in the restive province of Aceh, denting their claim that a peace deal to end the 30-year conflict was at hand.

The United Nations said on Friday international aid was flowing smoothly to tsunami-hit areas of Aceh, denying reports of large numbers of containers languishing on Indonesian wharfs.

Peace talks between Indonesian officials and Aceh separatists have run into a "disastrous" hurdle in discussions of political participation, the rebels said, claiming Jakarta had "sabotaged" the process.

"It's going diasastrously," Free Aceh Movement (GAM) political advisor Damien Kingsbury told AFP before a fourth day of talks got under way.

Helsinki – Aceh separatists on Friday called for the Establishment of an international tribunal to try Indonesian troops accused of Committing war crimes in the province.

Bakhtiar Abdullah, spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement, said Government forces had committed numerous war crimes but that very few of these had been prosecuted.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The Free Aceh Movement's (GAM) wish to form local political parties in Aceh has been in vain. The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has rejected the proposal because it violates the law on political parties.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) information center head Major General Kohirin Suganda Saputra said that the TNI welcomed the statement made by high-rank officers of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) during the fifth-round talks in Helsinki, Finland.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The ongoing peace talks between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Finland may end in deadlock with Jakarta refusing the rebels' demand for the establishment of local political parties and self government.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The government will not grant amnesty to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who have been involved in criminal activities. Amnesty will be granted in the context of it being given to those who have been involved in the conflict in Aceh.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Hundreds of Acehnese residing in the Indonesian capital Jakarta demonstrated on July 4 in support of the current peace negotiations being held in Helsinki, Finland, between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Separatists in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province have reiterated their demand for self-government to end a decades-long war, saying democratic local elections are a basic right.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have agreed to a demand by the Indonesian government that the tsunami-hit province should remain a part of Indonesia, but they spelled out conditions that the Acehnese must be allowed to govern the territory under a system of self-government.

Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has denied that it supports the dialogue between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki. The PDI-P is even calling for the official government representative to take responsibility for the fifth round of the informal negotiations going ahead.

AK-38, Jakarta – The Aceh Working Group (AWG) says there have been systematic efforts to ensure that the peace negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fail. This effort has being launched by a small section of People Representative Assembly and TNI (armed forces) military officers.

AK-1, Jakarta – The meeting between representatives of Acehnese civil society and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Stockholm on July 9-19 has resulted in a number of recommendations on Aceh's future.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in tsumami-ravaged Aceh province said Tuesday they are prepared to lay down their weapons if a peace agreement is reached this week in Finland.

"We will follow any order that comes from our leaders," Teungku Muharram, a rebel field commander for the Free Aceh Movement, told The Associated Press from his jungle hideout.

The exiled leadership of the Aceh separatist movement has agreed to a demand by Jakarta that the tsunami-hit province should remain a part of Indonesia, the rebels said in a statement.

AK-17, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Coalition of Human Rights Non-Government Organisations (Koalisi NGO HAM Aceh) believes that the shooting of foreign volunteers in Aceh is an attempt by certain parties to isolate Aceh from the international community. This is the reason that the coalition is asking the government to form an independent team to investigate the incident.

Jakarta – The government said on Friday that the disarmament of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam would be the final crucial issue to be discussed during the upcoming peace talks aimed at ending the decades-long conflict in the tsunami-devastated province.

The fifth round of peace talks is slated to kick off on Tuesday in Finland.