Aceh rebels disband armed wing

Indonesia's Aceh rebels formally disbanded their armed wing yesterday, fulfilling a crucial part of a tsunami-inspired peace accord to end one of Asia's longest separatist conflicts and paving the way for the guerillas to enter politics.

"The Acehnese national army, or the armed wing of the Free Aceh Movement, has demobilized and disbanded," Sofyan Daud, one of the group's commanders, told reporters. "The Aceh national army is now part of civil society, and will work to make the peace deal a success."

The action takes effect immediately, he said.

Yesterday's action is a key step as the rebels, who have fought a bloody insurgency against government troops for almost 30 years, transform themselves from a band of jungle fighters to political candidates in provincial elections planned for April.

"We are entering a political era now, we do not need weapons anymore," Daud said.

The announcement came shortly after rebel representatives met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province that was worst hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami one year ago.

The devastation wrought on the province by the disaster spurred the peace deal, in which the government has agreed to withdraw its troops from Aceh, grant the province broad autonomy and to allow former rebels to stand in the elections. The rebels agreed to disarm and disband. They are expected to do well in the elections.

So far, the deal has stuck. International peace monitors have overseen the destruction of 840 rebel weapons, and Yudhoyono yesterday repeated the government's promise to have the last of more than 24,000 forces gone by the end of the year.