HELSINKI, April 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The Indonesian government and Aceh separatists were reportedly making headway in their ongoing negotiations, hosted by Helsinki, with a government official signaling readiness to meet some self-government demands.

“(Proposals) that we can fulfill include issues related to forest management, fisheries and governance at village level,” Information and Communications Minister Sofyan Djalil was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as telling reporters.

He added that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)’s demands for the province to have its own anthem and flag could be granted because every Indonesian province has its own song and emblem anyway.

The minister, however, stressed that some of demands put forward by GAM’s exiled leaders could never be met because they were against Indonesia's constitution.

These include a demand that members of parliament from Aceh be given veto rights on matters related to the province, he said.

On Thursday, April 14, GAM presented its plan for self government in a formal document.

“It's a legal and constitutional question which they have to come back to with a more precise response. They need to confer with their parliament,” said GAM's Stockholm-based spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah.

The political framework includes contentious issues such as the status of Acehnese citizens and political parties, rules governing provincial and local elections and changing the name of Aceh itself, according to Reuters.

Aceh separatists described the negotiations, mediated by former Finnish president and career diplomat Martti Ahtisaari, as “constructive”.

“Yesterday (Thursday) we had direct talks with the Indonesian delegation that were very constructive... We had an open, friendly discussion and I think we can come to some understanding,” said Abdullah.

“There is a mutual understanding of what is on the table (but) a final agreement has yet to be reached,” he told AFP.

But the spokesman said the GAM delegation was troubled by the Indonesian military's decision on Thursday to send another 3,000 troops into the province.

“This will create more tension for the victims of the tsunami,” which killed more than 126,000 people in Aceh last December, he stressed.

“The problem is that when the troops come they never leave,” said Abdullah.

Aceh has been a battleground for government and armed separatists since 1976 when GAM launched its campaign for independence, angered by what it said was Jakarta's exploitation of the province's resources.

When government and GAM delegations met for a first round of Helsinki talks in January it was the first time they had stood face-to-face since May 2003, when Jakarta declared martial law and launched a major military offensive in the province.

The renewed efforts to reach a peaceful solution were prompted by a need for international aid to reach the province worst hit by the December 26 killer tsunami.

But continued fighting on the ground is threatening to cast a shadow over the negotiations.

An Indonesian military spokesman in Jakarta was quoted by Reuters as saying three soldiers were wounded in a GAM attack on Thursday in Pasiraja, South Aceh district. Indonesian troops had killed five GAM members between April 10 and 13.

Abdullah said that he was especially worried over reports on Thursday that nine women in the village of Nisam had been gang-raped by Indonesian troops.

Colonel Edi Sulistiadie, a military spokesman in North Aceh district where Nisam is located, insisted he had not received reports of any rapes in the district.

During the first day of talks in Helsinki on Tuesday, GAM asked Jakarta to call a ceasefire, but Indonesian officials shrugged off the suggestion.

“Our view is that the termination of the conflict should really be permanent. A ceasefire is not permanent,” Security Minister Widodo Adisucipto told journalists in Jakarta.