Jakarta – Two men claiming to be members of the Aceh separatist rebel movement entered the Finnish Embassy here yesterday and requested political asylum, saying they feared for their lives.

The pair met Ambassador Matti Pullinen before leaving the office voluntarily through a rear entrance.

One of the men, Mr Teuku Nasrudin Syah, 31, said they had left the embassy and were in the basement of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to negotiate an asylum request. Earlier, the second man, Mr Ermiadi, said embassy officials were accompanying them to the UNHCR office.

In Finland, Foreign Ministry spokesman Erja Tikka confirmed the two men had left the embassy for the UNHCR office. Ms Tikka said earlier that the pair would be told they could not seek asylum through the Jakarta embassy.

"According to our legislation, people can only seek asylum upon arrival in the country. We don't give asylum to asylum-seekers at our embassies and this is quite a common procedure," she said. "They will be told that this is our decision."

The two claimed to be members of the Aceh-Sumatra Liberation Front, the formal name of the Free Aceh Movement which is battling troops in Aceh province.

After entering the lobby of the embassy, they displayed written messages to reporters waiting outside the locked glass doors.

One message said they were seeking asylum from Finland "because they support our struggle. Our lives are threatened – Indonesian forces have killed so many of our brothers and sisters," read another message