Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign minister Monday defended peace talks between Jakarta and Aceh separatists amid growing criticism from lawmakers and the army, saying that other efforts to deal with the rebels had failed to bring peace to the province.

In an interview in Tempo's weekly magazine, minister Hassan Wirayuda urged patience with the negotiations between the government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels, who have so far completed four rounds of talks.

"People tend to simplify a process. If they are thinking, how come the Aceh talks have not yet concluded, they have to realize that peace requires a process" to unfold, Wirayuda said.

The peace talks, mediated by the Crisis Management Initiative of former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, have appeared to make progress, raising hopes that a fifth round of dialogue in July will end the fighting that has killed 14,000 people during the past 30 years.

But the peace process has been undermined by a growing chorus of dissent, with Indonesian lawmakers and military officials denouncing efforts to negotiate with the rebels.

Indonesia's senior security minister Widodo Adisucipto said last week that Jakarta would not bow to rebel demands for political representation, a key point in the peace talks.

Following that, the military rejected rebel calls for a post-tsunami ceasefire in the province, which was devastated by the December 26 waves.

Both sides only agreed to go back to the negotiating table after the tsunami, following a massive military offensive begun in 2003 that failed to bring the rebels to heel.

"The need for both sides to negotiate must have been based on an acknowledgement that other means have failed to solve the problems," said Wirayuda, who served as Indonesia's chief negotiator during Jakarta's ceasefire talks with the rebels that broke down in May 2003. "If there is a feeling that weapons could bring success, why bother negotiating?"

Rebel leaders have reacted furiously to Jakarta's refusal to compromise, further endangering peace efforts in Aceh.

The rebel group's military commander, Muzakkir Manaf, has launched a scathing attack on the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, accusing it of bad faith. "It becomes terribly clear that Jakarta has no intention of taking the slightest step forward," a statement from Manaf said.

The rebels have agreed to drop demands for independence or even a plebiscite on sovereignty in favour of a government offer of limited autonomy, provided they are given a political voice in future elections.