Jakarta – A request for political asylum by two civilian members of the Aceh separatist movement has been turned down by both the Finnish government and the United Nations refugee agency, an Indonesian minister said Thursday.

"The asylum request has been rejected because they did not qualify for it," top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters.

Teuku Nasrudin Syah and Ermiadi, who claimed to be members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), briefly entered the Finnish embassy in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Wednesday. They said they were requesting political asylum because they feared for their lives.

The pair met ambassador Matti Pullinen before leaving the office voluntarily through a rear entrance and heading to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office. Yudhoyono said the two men sought refugee status from the UNHCR but were turned down.

Police are "constantly monitoring" them to protect their safety, "to avoid accusations that they are not being protected," he said.

The two said they were members of the Aceh-Sumatra National Liberation Front, the formal name of the GAM which is battling troops and police in Aceh province on Sumatra island. GAM sources in Aceh confirmed they were "civilian members" of the separatist group and came from North Aceh.

The two could not be reached for comment Thursday and it was unclear where they were. The UNHCR said it would issue a statement later.

After entering the embassy lobby Wednesday, the two Acehnese displayed written messages to reporters waiting outside the locked glass doors. One message said "Our lives are threatened – Indonesian forces have killed so many of our brothers and sisters."

GAM rebels have been fighting for an independent state in Aceh since 1976. An estimated 10,000 people, mainly civilians, have died since then, including more than 400 people this year alone.