Chris Brummitt, Jantho – Imprisoned Aceh rebel Idris walks free on Wednesday as part of a peace deal with the government, but the scars he claims he sustained at the hands of his captor

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – Ex-Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members who are granted amnesties but persist in seeking independence must be destroyed by the government immediately.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The first confirmed cross-fire involving Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) guerrillas broke out on Sunday, putting a peace deal i

Jakarta – Indonesian Vice President Yusuf Kalla has dismissed calls by parliamentarians for Aceh rebels to swear an oath of allegiance to the government as a precondition for an amnesty

Fabio Scarpello, Jakarta – As the historic Aceh peace deal, signed two weeks ago in Helsinki, enters the delicate, implementation phase analysts worry that the wording is vague and that

Veena Siddharth, New York – When the Indonesian government and the armed separatists of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed their peace agreement this week, they demonstrated that even

Jakarta – The military may be held accountable for alleged atrocities committed during a three-decade separatist war in Aceh province, Indonesia's justice minister said Wednesday, denyi

Desra Percaya, New York – Following seven months of talks mediated by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Helsinki on Aug.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Criticism is gathering against the powerful Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) two months after it began the massive project of rebuilding the

Banda Aceh – At least 60 separatist guerrillas have left their rebel stronghold in Indonesia's Aceh province after a peace pact was signed last week.

Miswar, Banda Aceh – Indonesian negotiator Sofyan Djalil who is also the minister of information and communication, has started to manipulate the text of the memorandum of understanding

Banda Aceh – Civilians who lost family and friends during a three-decade separatist war in Indonesia's Aceh province deserve justice, rebels said Sunday, days after an agreement was sig

Jakarta – Criticism about the contents of the peace accord between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continued on Friday, with legislators questioning the role of the fore

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have agreed to only bring human rights violations cases in Aceh to court that occur after the signing of Memorandum

Salim Osman, Banda Aceh – All hopes for peace in the troubled Aceh province now rest on about 200 monitors who will oversee the implementation of the accord, with mistrust still prevail

AK-34, Jakarta – Responding to a plan by the Aceh regional house of representatives (DPRD) to issue a new by-law soon, an activist from the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front

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 r

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 occur

Jakarta – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has criticized the number of Indonesian Military (TNI) organic personnel, which exceeds the number of TNI personnel in other regions.

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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 Par

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 po

Rendi A.

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.

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.

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 tempora

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.

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 Helsin

Speakers: Malik Mahmood, GAM chief negotiator; Hamid Aaluddin, Indonesian Justice Minister; Allan Nairn, award-winning journalist and activist.

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.

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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 separati

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 cere

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.

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.

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

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.

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 w

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 Helsink

Alan Sipress, Lhok Bubon – The massive tsunami that crashed into Sumatra island in December ripped Ibu Yusniar's home from its concrete foundation.

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 amn

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 separ

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.

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

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

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 agre

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

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