Representatives for the Indonesian government and Aceh rebels agreed to a tentative peace deal in Helsinki late Saturday, boosting hopes that their 30-year conflict could soon be over, rebels said.
"We have reached a compromise position ... We have agreed on the language in the draft (peace) agreement and sent it to Jakarta for ratification," Free Aceh Movement (GAM) political advisor Damien Kingsbury told AFP following a fifth day of peace talks in Helsinki.
"If ratified in Jakarta, the deal will be initialled tomorrow," he said, adding that the Crisis Management Initiative foundation organising the talks would draw up a the final peace treaty, which is expected to be signed next month.
The western Indonesian province of Aceh has been a battleground for the government and armed rebels since 1976, leaving nearly 15,000 people dead.
When the parties convened for a first round of Helsinki talks in January it was the first time they had met since May 2003, when Jakarta declared martial law and launched a major military offensive in the province.
The renewed efforts to make peace were prompted by a need for international aid to reach Aceh, which bore the brunt of last December's tsunami. More than 131,000 people in the province perished.