Geneva – Representatives of the Indonesian government and separatist rebels in the Aceh province met yesterday to assess the success of the ongoing three-month truce.

President Abdurrahman Wahid has proposed prolonging the unprecedented truce, which came into effect on June 2 after negotiations between the two sides in Geneva.

"We want to extend the truce, but we have to know first the position of the Indonesian government, whether they will change their attitude by abiding by the agreement or not," Mr Zaini Abdullah, a Stockholm-based Free Aceh Movement representative, said on the eve of the meeting.

He said that under the agreement, Indonesia was to withdraw troop reinforcements sent to Aceh from other parts of the country. But he accused the Indonesians of doing the opposite by sending more troops into Aceh, boosting the total to about 30,000.

Indonesian officials did not return repeated phone calls for comment. An official close to the talks confirmed that the meeting of the so-called Joint Forum had started at a secret location but refused to give any more details.