Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday the civil state of emergency in Aceh will be extended for up to six months effective Friday, but he vowed to solve the conflict in the troubled province without foreign intervention.

"The status of the civil state of emergency will be extended for the next six months, six months at the most, and that will be evaluated every month and can be terminated when the situation gets better," Yudhoyono told a press conference before leaving for Chile to attend the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

He also said the government will try to solve the conflict without the help of foreign countries and expressed gratitude to the international community for its support of Indonesian territorial integrity and past assistance on the problem in the northern province.

Under the civil emergency, civilian leaders handle local government activities but are assisted by military leaders in overseeing the province.

Yudhoyono's predecessor Megawati Sukarnoputri imposed the current civil emergency status on Aceh on May 19, downgrading the martial law imposed May 19, 2003, to crack down on the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

Since the imposition of martial law, the government has launched what it calls an "integrated operation," which includes regional administration empowerment and law enforcement. Yudhoyono said the latest decision was made following a meeting with members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, during which the chamber gave its approval to extending the emergency.

Legislator Joko Edi Sucipto, who deals with the Aceh issue, said the extension is needed because the conflict has not been resolved.

"If the government leaves Aceh now, it will make a new mistake," Sucipto said. "An indicator to say that the problem in Aceh has been solved is if the feeling of fear is fading from Aceh. The people of Aceh need neither food nor development. They only need one thing – freedom from fear," he added.

Acehnese community leader Ghazali Abbas, however, criticized the government's decision, accusing Yudhoyono of breaking a promise he made before being sworn in as president last month to "create a change" in Aceh. "He still uses the military to solve the problem in Aceh," he said.

In another part of his press conference, Yudhoyono said that to guarantee transparency and accountability in the implementation of the integrated operation, Aceh will not be treated as a "closed region" for foreigners. The government has taken the current policies and measures "to maintain the momentum and sustainability of the integrated operation," he said.

He also said new policies and measures will be introduced to end the conflict permanently in an "honorable, just and peaceful" way. "The quality and effectiveness of the integrated operation needs to be improved to achieve the target, while violations and excesses need to be eradicated," he said. "Every single rupiah must be made accountable and every corrupt act must receive a strong and harsh sanction," he said.

The president also called on rebel members to surrender and pledged to offer amnesty, which has been promised since Megawati's administration.

Martial law was imposed to avoid bloodshed as rebels battled with police and the military. But even under martial law, nearly 1,800 rebels, soldiers, policemen and civilians were killed. Under the civil state of emergency, the figure has been decreasing. At least 565 rebels, 114 civilians, 45 soldiers and 10 policemen were killed, according to government figures.

The military, which dispatched 34,154 soldiers into the province, says that the number of rebels has declined to about 2,500 from an estimated 5,000 at the beginning of the military campaign. The rebels have been waging an independence war since 1976.