Banda Aceh – Twelve days have passed since the crucial "demilitarisation" phase of the Aceh agreement but separatist rebels have not started placing weapons in arms dumps and Indonesian troops have not begun withdrawing to defensive positions.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) said it did not expect any move by either side before March 9, a month after the phase was supposed to begin.

Mr David Gorman, a representative of the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC) which brokered the December 9 deal in Geneva, said late on Thursday that both parties 'are working on time and according to the schedule of the agreement'.

The two sides are only in the planning stage of demilitarisation, one of the most difficult issues at Geneva. GAM leaders feared they could be left defenceless against troops and police who outnumber them seven-to-one in the province at the tip of Sumatra island.

Under the pact, rebels over five months starting on February 9 should place their weapons at locations known only to themselves and the HDC, which will verify the process. The military, on the other hand, should relocate its forces and change its role from a strike force to a defensive force.