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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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-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.

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.

Murizal Hamzah/Emmy Kuswandari, Banda Aceh – Questionnaires to ascertain the public's views on the Helsinki peace process are being distributed in the northern Aceh district of Bireuen. At the top left hand corner of the questionnaire is the writing TNI (armed forces) Psychology Team Sub-Team III Bireuen.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.