Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has begun preparations to launch a military operation in Aceh, ending a peace pact that has been shredded in recent days by escalating violence.

But Jakarta said it would wait for the outcome of a meeting with rebel group representatives later this month before deciding on its next course of action in the separatist province.

Late on Tuesday, President Megawati Sukarnoputri held a closed-door meeting with Vice-President Hamzah Haz and her top security aides, including Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayudha and Defence Minister Matori Abdul Djalil. Indonesian military commander Endriartono Sutarto, navy chief Bernard Kent Sondakh, air force chief Chappy Hakim and national police chief Da'i Bachtiar were also present.

While details of the meeting were not revealed to the press, there were indications that a plan to crush the separatist rebels was discussed. General Endriartono had said earlier that he would brief the President about the planned military action, and in a limited Cabinet meeting last week, Ms Megawati ordered the military to prepare for an operation in Aceh, the Jakarta Post reported.

Tellingly, Mr Hamzah said before the meeting: "The military operation will not claim lives among the civilian population and will be implemented to make sure the Acehnese can live in peace." He insisted that the use of force would be a last resort.

While Jakarta has emphasised its commitment to an existing peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a contingency plan has been the focus of talks among key security officials this week. Military leaders have signalled their readiness to beef up troops in the province, saying the four-month-old Cessation of Hostility pact was a mistake to begin with.

Brokered by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HDC), the pact was signed by Indonesian representatives and GAM leaders in December to end 26 years of bloody clashes in the province. It calls for a ceasefire, requiring GAM to disarm and the Indonesian military to withdraw gradually from Aceh.

But violence has escalated in the last few weeks, causing the HDC to recall its local and foreign monitors from remote posts in Aceh. The Indonesian authorities and GAM have accused each other of violating the peace pact, and analysts say neither side has the goodwill to honour the pact.

In the latest act of violence, the military claimed yesterday that the rebels had fired on two military helicopters, forcing the pilots to do an emergency landing. On Monday, marines killed three suspected rebel gun-runners in a conflict at sea off East Aceh, the military said. In the past nine days, at least 31 people have been killed.

Experts fear the violence will worsen and more civilian lives will be endangered with the military operation. Acehnese human rights activist Syarifah Rahmatillah told The Straits Times: "We should have learnt from past mistakes to let civilians, not the warring parties, decide on matters that have the most impact on their lives."

All hopes now rest on a meeting scheduled for later this month, but on the official side, patience seems to be wearing thin. National Assembly speaker Amien Rais said yesterday: "If the government is already firm on one decision, then go ahead, I support it. This problem has dragged on for a long time, and we have been going around in circles."