Jakarta – Demands for an East Timor-style referendum on self-determination are on the rise in the staunchly Muslim Indonesian province of Aceh after decades of violence involving soldiers, civilians and armed separatist rebels. Here are some facts about the province:
Population: 5,114,850.
Geography: Aceh stretches over 55,390 square kilometers on the northernmost tip of Sumatra island.
Capital: Banda Aceh.
Language: Indonesian, Acehnese.
Religion: Muslim (97.6%), Christian (1.7%), Hindu (0.08%), Buddhist (0.55%).
Economy: Coconuts, coffee, timber, tobacco, oil and natural gas.
History: Aceh was already an important trading center and a seat of Islamic learning by the 16th century.
Its power began to decline towards the end of 17th century, but it remained independent of the Dutch who dominated the rest of the Indonesian archipelago.
In 1873, the Netherlands declared war on Aceh after negotiating a treaty in which Britain withdrew any objections to their occupation of Aceh.
The first Dutch force of 7,000 men retreated when its commander, General Kohler, was killed. A new army contingent, twice as large, succeeded in taking the capital, the central mosque and the sultan's palace, but the war dragged on for 35 years before the last sultan, Tuanku Muhammad Daud, surrendered.
Even then no Dutch area was safe from guerrilla attack from the Acehnese until the Dutch surrendered to Japan in 1942.
The Japanese were welcomed at first but resistance soon sprang up. This period saw the Islamic Party, which had been formed in 1939 under the leadership of Daud Beureuh, emerge as a political force.
With the birth of the Indonesian republic in 1945, Aceh was given special territory status but in 1951 Jakarta dissolved the province and incorporated it into the predominantly Christian province of North Sumatra.
Angry at the move, Beureuh proclaimed Aceh an independent Islamic Republic in September 1953.
This lasted until 1961 when military and religous leaders fell out. The central government resolved the conflict by returning the status of special province to Aceh.
In 1976 a separatist group, the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh Movement) was established to fight for an independent Islamic state of Aceh.
Aceh was declared a military operation area in 1988 and Indonesian troops were deployed to quash the separatist movement. Soldiers have since been accused by human rights groups of widespread violations.
Aceh has seen massive popular demonstrations in the past six months in support of a referendum on self-determination. At least 260 people, mostly troops and civilians, have died in the unrest.