The exiled leadership of the Aceh separatist movement has agreed to a demand by Jakarta that the tsunami-hit province should remain a part of Indonesia, the rebels said in a statement.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman Bachtiar Abdullah said in the statement sent to AFP from Stockholm that the separatists and representatives from Aceh civil society groups agreed to the demand, a key prerequisite for peace talks.

During consultations in Sweden at the weekend, both sides agreed "the only way to a comprehensive and sustainable peace in Aceh was through a negotiated agreement that gives to the people of Aceh the right and capacity to determine their own affairs within the context of the Republic of Indonesia."

Jakarta has said any peace talks to end the conflict in the resource-rich province at the westernmost tip of Sumatra island could only proceed in the context of Aceh not seceding from Indonesia.

Indonesian government and separatist rebels will meet this week in Helsinki for a final round of informal peace talks amid optimism an end to three decades of conflict is in sight in Aceh, the hardest hit region in the December 26 tsunami disaster.

However, in the same statement, the GAM also reiterated its demand that Jakarta allows for the establishment of local political parties in Aceh, a request that has been consistently rejected by the Indonesian government.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said last week the government could accept that former rebels run in local elections for the positions of mayors, district heads and deputies and of vice governor. But he ruled out allowing local parties saying the laws only recognized national political parties with representations in the region.

In the statement, the GAM expressed commitment for a negotiated peace and said genuine democracy in Aceh would include "the establishment of local political parties under a system of self-government."

The participants to the meeting also expressed concern about continuing military activities in Aceh by the Indonesian armed forces, and opposition to the peace process "expressed by some opportunistic politicians in Jakarta," the statement said.

Several parliamentarians have criticized the government for opening peace talks with separatist rebels and lashed at Jakarta for agreeing on the involvement of foreign peace monitors saying it may internationalize the conflict.

Yudhoyono has since approached and obtained the support of the leaders of several key political parties for the peace talks.

The GAM statement did not identify or give details on the number of representatives of Aceh civil society groups attending the meeting held in Lidingoe, Sweden, with the assistance of the Olof Palme International Center.

Almost 15,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in Aceh since the GAM began its independence bid in 1976, with accusations of widespread rights abuses levelled at both sides.

An uneasy peace agreement was struck in 2002, but collapsed early the next year as the government launched a major operation to crush the rebels, placing the resource-rich region under temporary martial law. The region has now returned to normal status.