Jakarta – The governor of Indonesia's troubled Aceh province has called for the country to change from a republic to a federation to cope with growing separatist pressures.

The governor, Syamsuddin Mahmud, made the landmark call as new deaths were reported from clashes in the northern Sumatran province where Moslem rebels have been fighting for an Islamic state.

Politicians and experts have also called for a review of Indonesia's constitution since the fall of Suharto as president last year, but Mahmud is the first government official to make such a radical call.

The governor, who is an economist, said it was becoming increasingly urgent for Indonesia to become a federal state to be able to accomodate its various specific cultures, the official Antara news agency reported.

"Based on my observation of the country's situation in general, I personally think the solution, which would ensure that Indonesia remains as it has been, is a federal state," Mahmud said Thursday in Aceh.

He said the province's strong Islamic nature should be reflected and accommodated if it joined such a federal state in place of the current unitary republic.