The government submitted the final draft of its Aceh government bill to the House of Representatives on Thursday, a major step following the historic peace agreement signed in Helsinki last August by Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

All eyes will be on the House when it begins deliberating the bill, which must be passed ahead of elections in Aceh the Helsinki agreement says should be held in April.

This newspaper reported on Saturday that sections of the draft bill are in accordance with the agreement, such as the schedule of the elections. Other sections raise questions about the government's goodwill, including the proposed clause allowing for the redrawing of Aceh's borders to form new districts, regencies or provinces. It brings to mind the battle of wills between Jakarta and Papua, whose leaders often beg to differ with the government's claim that major decisions are always taken in their best interest.

It is our sincere hope enough members of the House will, when deliberating the Aceh bill, be able to open their hearts and minds to the hopes and wishes of the Acehnese, and to the spirit of peace in the Helsinki agreement. This is crucial to balancing the hawks, who must be seen by their patrons and supporters to be defending the "interests" and very existence of the nation as we know it.

Already, there has been a perceivable dominance of the debate surrounding the issue of government in Aceh by "nationalists". They are usually much louder than their opponents and find a ready audience, because Indonesians, including members of the press, have been brought up to understand that the legacy of the unitary state must be preserved at all costs, given the sacrifices of our brave freedom fighters – never mind that Indonesia itself may have later acted as a ruthless colonialist, using violence as a tool of suppression and robbing whole communities of their livelihoods.

The resulting absence of any need to look at the issue from the eyes of those in Aceh who have grown up surrounded by soldiers and violence, coupled with nationalist groups raising the dreadful image of losing another province, like we lost East Timor, clears the way for legislators always on the lookout for any concessions to GAM, either for the sake of the nation, or to help them keep their seats in elections in 2009.

It was a torturous road to Helsinki itself, with many earlier failed attempts at peace. Ironically, the devastating tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, was a major factor in bringing the two sides together to reach an agreement to end the violence in the province.

To us, it is unthinkable, though far from impossible, that all of the suffering of the Acehnese could just be forgotten as politicians debate this draft bill. But the signs that this could be the case first appeared as far back as when the negotiators were meeting in Helsinki and the final agreement was announced. Acehnese crowded around their television sets and rejoiced at the prospect of peace, finally, and a sense of security for themselves and their families.

But in Jakarta, some legislators were already baring their red-and-white souls, saying concessions like local political parties were a betrayal and a potential threat to the unitary state.

What if the Acehnese who remained rebels at heart mustered enough support and won the elections, paving the way for another calamity like East Timor? On the front line defending the legacy of founding president Sukarno was his daughter, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, and the self-proclaimed woman leader, or "Cut Nyak" of Aceh. It was she who felt that the Helsinki agreement threatened the existance of the Indonesian state.

The rhetoric was toned down a bit as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who held a friendly meeting with GAM leaders in Finland's capital on Jan. 20, reiterated their commitment to the peace process.

The fate of the people of Aceh now lies in the hands of legislators. We can only hope they will remember the millions of Acehnese who are looking to the future as they try to overcome their losses from war and natural disaster, and defeat their colleagues in the House who are only looking to elections in 2009.