Tomi Soetjipto, Banda Aceh – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri flew into rebellious Aceh on Saturday on a fleeting trip aimed at bringing peace to this war-torn province.

Megawati's visit to Aceh is a key test of her goal to stabilise Indonesia after four years of political and social upheaval, but analysts have ruled out the possibility of a quick fix to halt spiralling bloodshed in the staunchly Muslim, resource-rich province.

Wearing elaborate, traditional Acehnese dress and a purple Muslim headscarf, Megawati went straight to the governor's office in the local capital Banda Aceh amid moderate security to hold closed-door talks with community leaders.

Troops and police guarded key points of the city, including the main mosque where Megawati is expected to meet ordinary residents later in the day. The dusty streets of Banda Aceh were quiet, as many people stayed home and shops closed for the day. The city lies 1,700 km northwest of the Indonesian capital Jakarta on the tip of Sumatra island.

Political analysts doubt Megawati's trip will do much to curb growing demands for independence in Aceh, end decades of violence which has killed thousands of people or reverse suspicions over countless broken promises to the Acehnese.

"A one-day visit cannot change the situation, the Acehnese are tired of promises of justice and peace. The situation here is so acute and complex," said Humam Hamid, a political analyst at the state-run University of Syiah Kuala in Banda Aceh.

Although Megawati will not meet rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and has flatly refused to heed demands for the province's split from the rest of the country, the separatists have said they would not disrupt her trip.

Megawati has taken personal responsibility for resolving the increasingly bloody conflict in Aceh, but has said little about her policy plans apart from a special autonomy package she signed last month.

Acehnese say that for Megawati to have any hope of rolling back suspicion of Indonesian leaders that extends back to her father, founding President Sukarno, she would need to launch serious investigations into years of human rights abuses, often committed by the security forces.

Officials said Megawati would formally declare the implementation of the autonomy package during her six-hour trip. The deal gives the resource-rich territory of four million people wide-ranging powers to handle its own affairs and a greater share of the province's wealth that locals complain has largely been siphoned off by Jakarta over the decades. The province is a major oil and gas producer and a key source of revenue for the cash-strapped central government.

Aceh leaders in firing line

Police declined to say how many personnel were deployed to safeguard the visit, but said they had not imposed excessive security for Megawati despite the assassination of a prominent university rector in the capital this week.Local media have said Dayan Dawood, who was gunned down on Thursday as he drove home from the Syiah Kuala University, was the ninth prominent Acehnese to be assassinated in two years.

"The situation is quite safe so there is no need to put out maximum security because it will only create fear. More troops and police will be put on stand-by but only at strategic points," Aceh deputy police spokesman Sudarsono told Reuters.

Aceh is one of Megawati's toughest challenges among the woes she inherited from the erratic Abdurrahman Wahid, who was ousted as leader by the top assembly in July for incompetence. Like all previous Indonesian presidents, he failed to halt violence in Aceh. More than 1,500 people, mostly civilians, have died since January in heavily militarised Aceh, where 40,000 soldiers and police are trying to quash the separatist rebellion.

Aceh threw its support behind Jakarta's fight for freedom from the Dutch, lured by a promise of special autonomy and the right to implement Islamic Sharia law by Sukarno. But Aceh was only allowed to impose Sharia law last year.