Banda Aceh – A separatist leader in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province has vowed to minimize the group's armed struggle and adopt more diplomatic means to achieve independence.

Abdullah Syafiie, charismatic army chief of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), said a truce signed in May by the separatists and the Indonesian government constituted a partial victory for the rebels.

The GAM has fought a bitter guerrilla war against Jakarta's rule since 1976 for an independent Islamic state in Aceh, a resource-rich region on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

"Times have changed. Struggling by taking up arms is no longer fashionable," Syafiie was quoted by the Aceh-based Kontras weekly tabloid as telling his followers.

"We have to liberate Aceh through political and diplomatic means. With the signing of the memorandum of understanding in Switzerland, we have gained half of independence," he added, referring to the truce. He said GAM members would make up the future armed forces of an independent Aceh.

The struggle to achieve independence for Aceh was now largely conducted through diplomatic means with only scant use of arms "when necessary," he said, adding that Aceh would finally win independence. "Acehnese evicted Dutch colonizers in the past, why can't we now [defeat Indonesia]?" he said.

Jakarta and GAM held closed-door talks near Geneva Saturday and Sunday, saying in a joint statement that a decision on whether to extend the truce – which expires September 2 and is officially called a "humanitarian pause" – would be made before the end of August.

The two sides said they were "strongly inclined" to extend the accord, which came into force on June 2. The truce has reduced but not halted the violence in Aceh.

Each side has accused the other of violating the agreement, and records show that 34 people were killed and 72 others injured in the first three weeks after the accord came into effect on June 2.