M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The return of exiled leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) indicates that a permanent and peaceful resolution to the three decades of conflict in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is just around the corner, an observer says.

However, two senior politicians in Jakarta beg to differ. Acehnese political analyst Fachry Ali said Thursday the decision from 11 senior GAM leaders to return to Aceh after a lengthy self-imposed exile was made only after a serious calculation that little could derail the ongoing peace process in the province.

"There's no way they (the GAM leaders) would return home if the situation in Aceh was still volatile. They also said that the road to peace is getting clearer," Fachry told The Jakarta Post.

The much-publicized return of the exiled GAM leaders would also improve Indonesia's stature internationally and give short-term economic benefits to the country, he said.

"The return of the GAM leaders gives the right signal (to international investors), that if members of a former rebel group can return here, then investors can too," he said.

On Wednesday, 11 exiled former GAM leaders including former "prime minister"-in-exile Malik Mahmood and "health-minister" Zaini Abdullah arrived in Banda Aceh to a warm reception.

The GAM leaders' return to Aceh marked another milestone in the peaceful resolution to the conflict in Aceh that kicked off with the signing of a peace accord in Helsinki, Finland, on Aug. 15, 2005. The peace accord is expected to bring an end to a 30-year-old conflict that has claimed in excess of 15,000 lives.

Senior government officials including Home Minister Moh. Ma'ruf, Telecommunications and Information Minister Sofyan Djalil and State Intelligence Agency head Sjamsir Siregar welcomed the return of the exiled GAM leaders.

Ma'ruf said that the GAM leaders would have the right vote in future local elections in Aceh once they became Indonesian citizens.

Speaking in a function held to welcome the returning GAM leaders in Banda Aceh, Mahmood anticipated that the peace in Aceh would be a lasting one. "It is our hope that the peace will be permanent and can bring good to Aceh and its people," Mahmood was quoted by Antara as saying.

In Jakarta, however, several politicians were pessimistic that the presence of former GAM leaders in Aceh would help the ongoing peace process. Lawmaker Permadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the leaders' presence would only precipitate the breakdown of the Helsinki accord.

"It is only a matter of time before the GAM leaders reject the new law on the Aceh Administration and undo the Helsinki accord," Permadi told the Post. The House of Representatives (DPR) is currently deliberating the bill on the Aceh administration.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said that the returning GAM leaders did not deserve a generous welcome. "They are not our leaders, not our heroes but we welcome them as if they are," he said.