Vaudine England – The Independent Commission on Aceh, which has helped bring soldiers and officers to trial over human rights abuses in the strife-torn province, said in its final report that the Government's current deal with separatist rebels was a failure, and that a threatened crackdown risked an East Timor-like crisis.

"With the authority the Government had from the Humanitarian Pause [deal], they didn't even manage to enforce a ceasefire," said the commission's Dr Rosita Noer yesterday.

"If the Government doesn't want to see Aceh becoming a second East Timor, then they should solve things through a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Pause has only created more hatred and made things worse, there is a failure of confidence. We're only one step away from an East Timor situation."

The deal also came under fire from a senior military commander yesterday. It was not working and the Government should declare a civil emergency in Aceh, Colonel Syarifudin Tippe said, echoing similar recent comments from the country's Foreign Minister. Clashes had subsided since a ceasefire was declared in June, Colonel Tippe said, but rebels were gaining the upper hand in a psychological war.

The Aceh commission's report concludes that violence increased three-fold in Aceh in the three-month period of the agreement, signed by the Government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels in Geneva, Switzerland, in May.

"Our recommendations were not well taken by the Government," Dr Noer said. "So of course the state apparatus are asking for a state of civil emergency. But as we can see, they can't even enforce this in the Maluku Islands. In Aceh too, civil emergency will make no difference."

The Government and GAM negotiators agreed last week in Geneva to extend the Humanitarian Pause by another three months.