Jakarta – The government has no intention of partitioning Aceh because it would violate the Helsinki peace agreement signed by Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) last year, Information and Communications Minister Sofyan Djalil says.

"We agreed that Aceh would not be partitioned," Sofyan said to a meeting about the peace agreement in Banda Aceh on Saturday. "We should focus more on the peace process." The meeting was attended by GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah, Aceh provincial legislative council speaker Said Fuad Zakaria and religious leaders.

Sofyan said Aceh's partitioning would not only amount to a violation of the peace accord but would also not benefit locals. "The demands... to establish new regencies, municipalities and even provinces have until now been of no use to the people," Sofyan said quoted by Antara.

He cited a recent survey by the Jakarta-based Paramadina University of 90 new regencies and municipalities across Indonesia. It showed that 84 of them had blown their budgets on non-essential infrastructure spending like improvements to local government buildings.

The minister, who helped draft the peace agreement, said that most of the territories that wanted to become new regions or provinces were located outside of Java and had small populations. "Partitioning only serves the interests of the political elite who have ambitions to become regional chiefs," the minister said.

Establishing new regencies, municipalities or provinces also cost a lot of money, which would be better spent on improving public welfare, he said.

Several Acehnese officials have called for Aceh to be split into two provinces: Aceh Leuser Antara, which would consist of the Central Aceh, Southeast Aceh, Gayo Lues, Mener Meriah and Aceh Singkil regions; and Southwest Aceh province, made up of West Aceh, South Aceh, Southwest Aceh, Nagan Raya, Aceh Jaya and Simeule.