Indonesia warns of military action in Aceh

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia on Monday declared martial law in the restive province of Aceh and announced it will launch a military operation against rebels after peace talks in Tokyo broke down.

The military also arrested five senior rebels who had played a key role in negotiating a Dec. 9 peace deal in Geneva.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri approved the actions after a rebel delegation in Tokyo rejected conditions laid out by the government to salvage the faltering peace accord, Indonesia's chief security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said Monday.

"The president has ordered an integrated operation to begin," the chief security minister said.

Martial law, which gives the military sweeping powers to arrest people, impose curfews and stop people from entering or leaving the province, will last for six months and can be extended if necessary, Yudhoyono said.

The military also can impose a news blackout in the region under the state of emergency.

The Dec. 9 agreement halted the 26-year insurgency in the oil- and gas-rich province 1,200 miles northwest of Jakarta, but the accord unraveled in recent months following violence by both sides and mutual recriminations.

The Tokyo talks were arranged hastily under pressure from international donors alarmed by the prospect of a return to hostilities in Aceh, where more than 12,000 people have died in fighting since 1976 amid accusations of atrocities on both sides.

As the two sides sat down for the second day of negotiations on Sunday in Tokyo, thousands of Indonesian troops massed in the province, poised to attack.

The talks ended with the rebels refusing to comply with Indonesia's demand to disarm and accept special autonomy, not independence for the province.

Rebel leader Malik Mahmud said he believed the Indonesian government was "looking for a way to declare war" and did not intend to compromise.

"They asked us to surrender," said Mahmud, who vowed resistance to government troops.

"We will oppose the onslaught," he said. "We will fight for independence."

Indonesia's chief government negotiator said the two sides "nearly reached an agreement" during the roughly 13 hours of talks Sunday. But he said the issue of independence for the region was not on the table.

The five senior rebels were first arrested Friday as they prepared to leave Aceh to join the peace talks in Japan. Authorities released the men the next day after the discussions began.

Armed officers barged into their hotel in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, shortly after martial law was declared on Monday and took them to regional police headquarters, witnesses said.

Police were not immediately available for comment.