The December 26 earthquake and tsunami disaster that devastated Indonesia's restive province of Aceh, killing 123,071 people, has strengthened the Acehnese people's sense of Indonesian identify, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday.

The survey, carried out by the independent Indonesian Survey Foundation in collaboration with the government's Social Affairs Ministry, showed that 76 percent of the approximately 700 Acehnese respondents feel proud to be Indonesians and 74 percent would go to war to defend the country.

"Unexpectedly, the sense of Indonesia-ness among the Acehnese people is very high," Denny Januar Aly, the foundation's executive director, told a press conference.

"Politically, the majority of the Acehnese people is proud of being Indonesian... although the disaster they experienced doesn't change the fact that there is a feeling of disappointment with conditions in Aceh," Aly said.

"The data is enough to show that the separatist Free Aceh Movement has not taken roots in the Acehnese community," he added.

GAM, as the separatist movement is known, has been waging a guerilla war in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra since 1976, demanding separation from Indonesia. Thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict.

The rebels have long accused the government of milking the province of its natural resources and failing to keep promises to implement autonomy there.

The two sides are now meeting in Helsinki, with the rebels reportedly saying they would drop their independence demand if Jakarta withdraws troops from Aceh and allows for meaningful self-rule, including provincial elections in which GAM could contest as a political party.

Particularly before the quake and tsunami disaster, the Indonesian military was widely viewed among Acehnese as something to be afraid of because of its bad human rights record.

But the survey showed that almost all Acehnese respondents feel that government soldiers have been helpful to the disaster victims, while only about half feel that way about GAM. "The Aceh disaster can be a momentum to bring the military closer to the Acehnese people and keep them off GAM," Aly said.

Sixty percent of the respondents, however, expressed disappointment that the Aceh reconstruction process has not paid sufficient attention to the wish and aspirations of the Acehnese people.

"The Acehnese people want to be more involved and invited to participate in the disaster management process and Aceh's reconstruction." Aly said.

"It will be very bad for Aceh if local residents feel they only become an object or guest in the process of reconstruction in Aceh that has been dominated by foreigners," he added.