Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri is facing the apparent unravelling of the peace pact in Aceh province. Just four months after the Government and GAM, the separatist Free Aceh Movement signed a peace deal, international peace monitors have been withdrawn to the capital Banda Aceh after their offices were attacked.

There has also been a renewed spate of violence. In the second part of this interview with Asia Pacific, Indonesian National Assembly head Amien Rais warns of possible 'East Timor' situation.

Transcript:

Rais: Aceh is very messy right now, even it's bordering to anarchy and unfortunately my government seems not to know what to do, while the people in Aceh are attracted to the ideas of GAM, to have referendums on this in the future. So we are facing a very delicate situation. However I have to stick to my principles that a military solution must be made as a last, last resort. I mean before everything is exhausted, we cannot talk about military solution, because military solution means bloodshed and we don't want to see any bloodshed among our people.

Lopresti: There is a danger though, that the situation in Aceh could deteriorate, could become another East Timor-type situation. But there are already accusations that those behind the violence are the military themselves?

Rais: At the beginning I liked to buy that kind of theory, until maybe nine or 10 months ago, but now it is just impossible, because if the military is behind the conflict, behind the confusion, are the military are killing themselves, you know? The military is the backbone of our national and defence security too and if they destabilise Aceh and then Aceh finally collapses and it will be separated from our unitary state. That's not at all the idea of the military. I mean this kind of accusation is wrong.

Lopresti: But are you concerned that it will become another East Timor and that the government should be doing more, should have done more to control these groups?

Rais: Yes, yes, yes, I want to see the government do much, much more than what it is doing right now. I believe that we need a kind of multi-dimensional approach, not only to prevent bloodshed, but also a social, political, legal, religious approach because the problem is really multi-dimensional. But we do need many, many, myriad approaches to solve the problem. And it must be now rather than later, for sure it is very worrying right now and if we cannot solve the problem in time, Aceh will become the second East Timor.