Helsinki – Aceh separatists on Friday called for the Establishment of an international tribunal to try Indonesian troops accused of Committing war crimes in the province.

Bakhtiar Abdullah, spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement, said Government forces had committed numerous war crimes but that very few of these had been prosecuted.

"What (the Free Aceh Movement) seeks is for Indonesia to subscribe to the international convention of holding to account the officers and politicians who have ordered these crimes," Abdullah said.

The appeal, which came during the fifth round of peace talks in Helsinki, is potentially troubling for Jakarta which is already being pressed by The United Nations to bring to justice members of the security forces responsible for the devastation of East Timor in 1999.

Last month, a UN panel recommended to the UN Security Council that A tribunal akin to those for Rwanda and ex-Yugoslavia be formed within Six months to try Indonesian commanders accused of violence in East Timor And attacks on the world body's mission there.

"The time for denying war crimes and not holding to account those who order them must end," Abdullah said.

He also demanded that the authorities capture Lt. Col. Sudjono, who is accused of leading a company of troops that executed 56 boys and their teacher at a religious school in central Aceh in 2000. Although 24 soldiers were found guilty at a subsequent trial, Sudjono – who like many Indonesians uses only one name – mysteriously disappeared from a military jail.

Human rights groups say Sudjono – who is reportedly living openly in a Town in Central Java – is the link to the army generals who ordered the massacre.