Banda Aceh – A leading rights activist warned Friday that including the option of independence in any referendum on the future of the volatile province of Aceh was non-negotiable.

"The only thing that can cure the wounds of the people of Aceh ... will be an offer from the government for a referendum with two options – independence or federation," Abdul Gani Nurdin, told AFP on the eve of a key anniversary in the province.

The warning came as a parliamentary committee on Aceh was reported to have come down in favour of a ballot while failing to resolve whether it should include the possibility of independence.

Nurdin, who heads the Forum for Human Rights Concerns in Aceh, a rights watchdog in the western province, said the wounds inflicted by military atrocities in the past decade were too deep to be easily cured.

An overwhelming 90 percent of the people of Aceh wanted a referendum on self-determination, he said. The other 10 percent were mostly Acehnese working within the current bureaucracy, he added.

Nurdin also said the government's intention to hold talks with Aceh leaders would be pointless unless the independence option was on the table.

"Any dialogue should be to strengthen the independence option ... if it is this, then we will accept to hold a dialogue anytime," Nurdin said.

They have given the government until Saturday – GAM's 23rd anniversary – to decide whether to hold a ballot. Indonesian leaders have so far ruled out a referendum on self-rule in Aceh but have promised the province wider autonomy.

The Jakarta Post reported Friday that a special committee of parliament had recommended holding a referendum but sidestepped the question of whether to include the option of independence.

Proposals for a referendum are among 10 recommendations which will be made by the committee to parliamentary leaders on Monday, the daily said.

Other recommendations include a special autonomy status, a non-military court to try those accused of human rights abuses, a rejection of martial law and talks between the government and the Acehnese, committee chairman Ali Yahya told the Post.

In the latest violence a soldier and two civilians were killed Thursday in Meulaboh, West Aceh in a clash between the armed forces and GAM. The bodies of two men were also found in two separate places in East Aceh Thursday. Both had had their hands tied behind their backs, the Post reported.