JP/2/gam

JP/2/gam

Cautious optimism as Aceh talks resume

Agencies Helsinki

Organizers expressed cautious optimism as a third round of peace talks between Indonesian officials and Aceh separatists began here on Tuesday, aiming to end a protracted independence war in the tsunami-ravaged province.

"There is cautious optimism ... they have started the work and there is no clear indication of any tensions. This is a sign of commitment from both sides," said Maria-Elena Cowell, a spokeswoman for Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), which is organizing the talks.

The fresh peace negotiations, which were driven by the need for international aid to reach Aceh, are scheduled to last six days and, like the first two rounds in January and February, are being mediated by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. The discussions, which got under way at 9 a.m., are taking place at the Koeningstedt estate outside Helsinki.

"The parties have had separate meetings with Ahtisaari and they are now proceeding with a joint session," Cowell told AFP, adding that "the talks today should go on until around 6 p.m. after which time the parties will eat dinner together".

A cease-fire and further details of a rebel plan for self- government are on the agenda of the talks.

"The GAM delegation will ask for a cease-fire this afternoon, at a minimum for the period of the third round of talks, as a gesture of goodwill on the part of the Indonesian government," GAM adviser Damien Kingsbury told Reuters.

"(It would) match, in some small way, GAM's own gesture of goodwill, which has been not bringing its claim for independence to the negotiating table," he said.

Kingsbury said given the request would need the assent of Jakarta, GAM would give the Indonesian side 24 hours to respond to the request. An Indonesian spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

GAM spokesman Abdullah Bakhtiar said the rebels were concerned about a possible Indonesian military assault in Aceh during the talks. An Indonesian military spokesman in Aceh said there had been clashes with GAM this week but no one was killed.

Continued fighting in the region and a war of words have set the tone ahead the talks, which first started in January under the auspices of former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari's Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) group.

GAM at the weekend accused the CMI of taking Jakarta's line on the issue of "special autonomy" for Aceh.

"We, the leadership and the TNR (military wing), have sent a letter of protest, which will probably be taken up this morning," Bakhtiar said, adding that GAM still held the CMI in high regard and believed the issue would be resolved swiftly.

A source close to the negotiations said the letter was not likely to be a sticking point in the talks.

The Indonesian government and an adviser to the rebels have both said a peace deal was possible this year.

The composition of the official delegations has remained unchanged since the last round of talks.

The government of Indonesia is represented by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil, Deputy Minister for Social Welfare Farid Husain, Director for Human Rights and Security at the Foreign Ministry, Gusti Agung Wesaka Pudja and Deputy Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs at the Department of National Security Usman Basyah.

The GAM negotiators are Malik Mahmud, Zaini Abdullah, Bakhtiar Abdullah, Nur Djuli and Nurdin Abdul Rahman.