Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Tricky details could trip up an apparent political breakthrough for Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province after rebels agreed to drop a demand for independence for the tsunami-hit region during peace talks in Finland.
Analysts and Indonesian politicians said on Wednesday while the move was a big step forward, hurdles remained, especially defining what the rebels meant by being willing to accept "self-rule" instead of independence.
Separatists of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) made clear their position to Reuters in Helsinki on Tuesday. Indonesia has said its best offer is a special autonomy package for Aceh.
"I wouldn't call it a breakthrough yet. We have to find out what the fine print is," said Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia director for the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank and an expert on the 30-year Aceh conflict.
"We don't know what the details are and we don't know what other conditions GAM might demand nor do we know how flexible the Indonesian government will be."
Rafendi Djamin of the Human Rights Working Group said GAM's change of heart could lead to a new deal on a ceasefire. "[Government] negotiators are one step behind in a sense that GAM has shown more willingness to hold a dialogue... they are willing to give up their firm demand, so a ceasefire can be achieved," Djamin said.
Government officials in Jakarta declined to comment but Indonesia's powerful military welcomed GAM's apparent change. "If they have softened, which is what we hoped for, this gives a good indication that the conflict in Aceh can soon be resolved," said military chief Endriartono Sutarto, quoted by the official Antara news agency.
This week's negotiations in Helsinki are expected to end on Wednesday, the second round since both sides resumed talks after last December's massive tsunami brought them together. Both sides expect more talks before any deal is agreed.
A preliminary peace agreement reached in 2002 fell apart partly over the question of autonomy, which the government said could not lead to full independence.
The autonomy deal Jakarta has offered gas-rich Aceh is little different from past positions, which included some concessions towards self-rule, Islamic law, and a bigger slice of the economic rewards from the province's resources.
Theo Sambuaga, head of parliament's commission on security and foreign affairs, said parliament would be willing to discuss more options for an autonomy package if GAM did not push for independence or seek a referendum on Aceh's political future.
Make or break
Sambuaga said the government should stick to a previous pledge of granting an amnesty to GAM fighters and allowing them to return to Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra island if they gave up their independence bid. "But in return, GAM must not exist anymore," Sambuaga said, appearing to rule out any political role for the organisation.
Australian academic Damien Kingsbury, who is advising the rebels, said talks on Tuesday covered possible changes in Indonesian electoral laws to allow for local political parties, withdrawal of military forces and possible outside monitoring.
Indonesia, still smarting over the loss of East Timor in 1999, might find such ideas hard to accept, analysts said. "These are the kind of technical details that could make or break the agreement," said Jones.
In Aceh, where the conflict has killed more than 12,000 people, there was some scepticism that any peace deal would be implemented. "If the result is supposed to be peace and no war, we will wait and see what happens here," said Budiman Abbas, a refugee in a camp at the devastated town of Calang on Aceh's West Coast.
[With additional reporting by Telly Nathalia in Jakarta and Jerry Norton in Calang.]