We may have good reason to congratulate ourselves for the peace in Aceh, which has now lasted for six months, the longest in decades, but we must never forget the role played by our international friends in ending the violence.

The peace accord between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was signed in Helsinki, Finland, last August. The cooperation between the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), ASEAN, the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, the central and local governments, the Acehnese and GAM is undoubtedly behind the current peace in Aceh.

Past efforts, initiated with as much candor and goodwill, failed to produce results. The longest that peace lasted was a couple of months. This was the case with the humanitarian pause under former president Abdurrahman Wahid in 2000, and another truce brokered by the Henry Dunant Centre in December 2002.

The European Union and five members states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been working tirelessly over the last six months to see that Aceh is demilitarized peacefully. The province will see its first free elections some time in August.

With a feeling of gratitude for our international friends, we received encouraging news this week that the EU has agreed to extend the presence of AMM in the province until June 15. This is another breath of hope. The transition to peace in Aceh is entering a critical stage, with the government and the people of Aceh at odds over the bill on governance in Aceh.

The time for deliberation is short, as the law should be in place by March 31, but the head of the special committee dealing with the bill was only elected last week. There are indications the House of Representatives is dragging its feet on the bill, and there are concerns among the Acehnese the eventual law will depart from certain aspects of the peace accord.

How much will the House accommodate the aspirations of the Acehnese? How much will the final draft differ from the three separate drafts submitted by the government, GAM and the Acehnese people, through the Aceh Provincial Legislative Council? These are all open questions, but the outcome of the bill's deliberation will be indicative of the trajectory of peace in Aceh. Contentious clauses abound in the bill, such as independent candidates in elections, local political parties and the Acehnese flag. Opponents to these clauses often hide behind the pretext of nationalism, or perhaps more accurately a myopic nationalism.

There are signs that certain Jakarta politicians and bureaucrats are playing with fire. A recent proposal by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to divide Aceh into three provinces is a case in point, as this would violate the Helsinki deal. There is nothing wrong with partitioning a huge province, especially when it is in accordance with local demands. The problem is the timing. Aceh has just recovered from the catastrophic tsunami and is on its way to genuine peace.

Politicians who like to force their ideas on people at any cost do not necessarily see peace in Aceh as a necessary boost to Indonesia's ebbing prestige. They should be reminded of the thousands of people who perished in the 30-year separatist conflict in the province. They should decide whether to pursue their short-term political interests or to listen to the conscience of the Acehnese.

Our largely unsettled internal politics, left out of the reform movement, underline the need for international friends. This is another reason we welcome the extension of the AMM's presence in Aceh. We believe a little pressure from international friends never hurts. We may even need such pressure to maintain the fragile and hard-won peace in Aceh.