Jakarta – A prominent human rights group in Aceh on Friday criticized Finnish mediator Martti Ahtisaari for allegedly backing the Indonesian government's side and its proposal to resolve the decades-long independence struggle.

"Martti Ahtisaari's statement which said that the next meeting will be based on the special autonomy proposal is tendentious and this could hamper further dialogue," said a statement released by the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), a coalition ofnon-governmental groups advocating a UN-supervised plebiscite on self-determination for the oil-rich province.

Negotiation in Finland between the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) ended inconclusively last month, but the two sides pledged to meet again soon to seek a peace deal.

The talks, the first since the collapse of a five-month truce in May 2003, were held under the auspices of the Crisis Management Initiative, an independent non-governmental organization founded by Ahtisaari, a former president of Finland.

The current peace process is seen as the best chance to end the 29-year old conflict on the northern tip of Sumatra island. Both sides have been under intense international pressure to endthe bloodshed since the region was devastated by the December 26 tsunami.