Agencies in Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Suryadi Sudirja indicated yesterday the troubled province of Aceh was unlikely to get a referendum soon to decide its political status.

Special autonomy within the "unitary state of Indonesia" was a better solution to Aceh's problems than "separation from the family", Mr Suryadi said.

His statement came just a day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said he agreed in principle to the notion of an East Timor-like self-determination ballot for the people of the resource-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra.

"We must work hard to reach a compromise ... We don't want an attitude that seeks only one's self-interest to prevail," Mr Suryadi said after a meeting with President Wahid. "Causing many people misery is not the right thing to do," the minister said.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais warned yesterday that the separatist conflict in Aceh needed to be resolved soon if Jakarta wanted to avoid an East Timor-style independence referendum there.

"If the problem of Aceh cannot be resolved immediately, it will be no surprise if a referendum in the province becomes a reality," Mr Rais said in a public warning to Mr Wahid.

"The issue of Aceh is real, and there should be quick steps taken to resolve the problem." In East Aceh on Thursday, tens of thousands of demonstrators paraded peacefully through the town of Sigli, in the second large-scale protest in the area in two weeks.

Even Mr Wahid emphasised that his support for self-determination did not mean an immediate vote on autonomy. This was because many more discussions and consultations within government and with ordinary members of society were needed, he said. "A way to know the feelings of Acehnese" on the referendum must be sought, Mr Wahid said. Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said the decision on a referendum might have to be made by all Indonesians and not just the Acehnese.