Banda Aceh – At least 60 separatist guerrillas have left their rebel stronghold in Indonesia's Aceh province after a peace pact was signed last week.

Miswar, Banda Aceh – Indonesian negotiator Sofyan Djalil who is also the minister of information and communication, has started to manipulate the text of the memorandum of understanding

Jakarta – Criticism about the contents of the peace accord between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continued on Friday, with legislators questioning the role of the fore

Salim Osman, Banda Aceh – All hopes for peace in the troubled Aceh province now rest on about 200 monitors who will oversee the implementation of the accord, with mistrust still prevail

Jakarta – Indonesia's military, often accused of human rights violations, is likely to stick to a fresh peace pact in Aceh province despite frustrations over concessions to separatist r

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A number of politicians have voiced strong criticism of the Aceh peace deal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with opposition bloc the Indonesian Democratic Par

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed an historic peace agreement, though not the first, on Monday in Helsinki, Finland.

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) faced its first test on Wednesday when plainclothes po

Allan Nairn – The TNI/POLRI is now saying that they have about 35,000 men in Aceh, which, if true, would mean that under the Helsinki deal with GAM signed yesterday they will be tempora

Allan Nairn – In Central Aceh, the TNI has an ethnic Javanese and Gayo militia force that is estimated to be larger than the Aceh-wide GAM.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to honor a historic agreement with separatist rebels from Aceh province and has urged the guerrillas to do the same.

Dan Eaton, Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military and Acehnese rebels on Tuesday cautiously welcomed a peace pact but each expressed doubts the other would stick to the deal.

Speakers: Malik Mahmood, GAM chief negotiator; Hamid Aaluddin, Indonesian Justice Minister; Allan Nairn, award-winning journalist and activist.

Following are key passages from a seven-page Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group, signed on Monday in Helsin

Helsinki – The Indonesian government and Muslim Aceh rebels signed a historic peace accord aimed at ending decades of bloodshed in a region devastated by last year's tsunami.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – The gunfire that marked 30 years of bitter secessionist fighting in Aceh has given way to another sound – the beating of 114 traditional rapai drums during a cere

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – An atmosphere of peace prevailed in Aceh ahead of an historic day that many hope will mark an end to almost three decades of bloodshed.

Associated Press in Banda Aceh – As a ship carrying hundreds of troops leaves Aceh's port, soldiers and police wonder if an accord being signed by the Indonesian government and separati

Allan Nairn – Today (August 15, 2005) the Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) will sign a deal with the government of Indonesia under which they agree to disarm and accept

AK-17, Banda Aceh - A day before the signing of the peace agreement, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has protested the continued presence of TNI (armed forces) controlled militia in Aceh.

Banda Aceh – Separatist guerrillas in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh will respect a peace pact to be signed with the government, one of their top spokesmen said.

Banda Aceh – Hopes are high that a peace deal to be signed Monday will finally end decades of bloodshed between troops and separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province, but analysts w

Stockholm – Rebel leaders from Aceh accused the Indonesian government of failing to disarm militias in the province, a day before both sides are to sign a landmark peace deal in Helsink

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – With the Helsinki peace deal only a few days away, some Acehnese figures urged the government on Thursday to prepare the technicalities for a plan to grant amn

Jakarta – People in war-torn Aceh province are cautiously optimistic that three decades of fighting will come to an end when the Indonesian government signs a peace agreement with separ

The Free Aceh movement or GAM and the Indonesian government will sign an agreement in Helsinki next Monday designed to bring an end to hostilities in Aceh province.

The following is abridged from a July 27 article by Thamrin Ananda, the chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA).

Jakarta – Efforts to end three decades of bloodshed in Aceh received a major boost on Tuesday as the government secured full support from the House of Representatives for its peace agre

Jakarta – The leaders of the House of Representatives are divided on whether or not the body's official seal of approval is needed for the peace agreement between the government and the

Jakarta – The Indonesian military says it is readying its troops in case a peace agreement with rebels in Aceh province collapses.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – There is a saying in Aceh, meunyo ka dimeusurapai uroe lageum dipiyoh dimeusu budee, meaning that weapons should stop firing when the rapai drum is beaten.

AK-41, Bandung – The All-Java Aceh Social Forum in Bandung has succeeded in reaching an agreement to support the signing of the Helsinki peace agreement.

Alisa P, Jakarta – The demilitarisation phase covered under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement will proceed over a period

Niken Widya Yunita, Jakarta – The position of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction, which has persisted in opposing negotiations between the Indonesian government

Miswar, Banda Aceh – August 15 will be a historical moment for the Acehnese people, because on that day the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and th

James Balowski, Jakarta – Despite earlier opposition, leaders of Indonesia's parliament now appear to be willing to allow provincial-based political parties to be established in Aceh.

Jakarta – The government is now focused on formulating a dispute settlement mechanism, if violence arises after the peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been signed.

Jakarta – The United States congratulated Indonesia Wednesday for reaching a draft peace deal with rebels in Aceh province, and said the accord would make it easier for Washington to re

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – Support for the Aceh peace negotiations is strengthening.

AK-41, Bandung – The Acehnese community from the Bandung Community of Acehnese Families (Keluarga Masyarakat Aceh Bandung, Kamaba) will hold an all-Java Acehnese Society Dialogue Forum

Murizal Hamzah/Emmy Kuswandari, Banda Aceh – Questionnaires to ascertain the public's views on the Helsinki peace process are being distributed in the northern Aceh district of Bireuen.

Jakarta – Three members of the European Union peace monitoring team arrived in Aceh on Saturday, more than two weeks ahead of the scheduled arrival of the full peace mission.

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – Support for the government on the draft agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is growing.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has prepared a contingency plan to anticipate possible violations of the Aceh peace agreement scheduled for signing on Aug.

M.

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – Hundreds of youths from the Commandos for the Defense of the Fatherland (Komando Bela Tanah Air, Kombat) demonstrated in front of the offices of Vice Presiden

James Balowski, Jakarta – A historic peace agreement has been reached between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) following a fifth round of negotiations in Helsi

Ali Imran, Meulaboh – People in Meulaboh, West Aceh, are again starting to feel concerned after the appearance of a sticker which they are obliged to buy and display on their motorbikes

Jakarta – The Acehnese people are looking forward to the signing of the peace deal scheduled for Aug.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Aceh claim their hard-won draft peace agreement with Jakarta has been endangered by an accelerating military campaign of intimidation and vio