Human rights organisation Suaram has denounced the Indonesian government for launching a military offensive in Aceh, less than a day after the breakdown of peace talks in Japan with the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

In a press statement, Suaram coordinator Elizabeth Wong said the declaration of martial law for the province and the renewed hostilities against GAM forces effectively marked the end of hope and peace for the people of Aceh.

"Evidently, the so-called 'last-minute talks' held in Japan over the weekend were o­nly a charade o­n the part of the Indonesian government to mask its gross inadequacy and its lack of political will in seeking a peaceful solution in Aceh," she said.

According to latest press reports, the Indonesian military - which boosted its strength to 45,000 men in recent days - started a large-scale offensive o­n rebel positions just hours after the signing of a martial law decree by President Megawati Sukarnoputri today.

Reuters has reported the firing of several rockets o­n rebel bases while troops amassed in anticipation of the attack had already begun parachuting into the province.

Fifteen warships were also reported to have been deployed to the port city of Lhokseumawe - a sign of Indonesia's seriousness in wiping out the rebels.

War-mongering gestures

Wong said the quick response by the Indonesian military showed that a decision to launch an assault o­n the troubled northern Sumatra province had been made even prior to the Tokyo talks.

"The Indonesian government had sought to arrest, intimidate and brutalise a number of GAM negotiators in Japan and there has been a massing of Indonesian troops in Aceh in the past week.

"This suggests that the military was poised to wage an all-out war as soon as the negotiations break down," she said.

In addition, Wong said Jakarta had also act in apparent disregard to its commitments to a ceasefire agreement signed with GAM in Geneva last year.

"One of the key points of the (ceasefire agreement) signed in Geneva between the two parties was for an immediate end to hostilities. The continued presence of some 30,000 Indonesian troops in Aceh and war-mongering gestures by the Indonesian generals belie the very essence of the peace agreement," she said.

East Timor revisited

According to Wong, the action by the Indonesian government is also reminiscent of the 1975 invasion of East Timor - which later led to more than two decades of conflict before East Timor was granted independence in 1999.

"The reaction of the Indonesian government to terrorise the Acehnese into submission moves the Megawati government a notch closer to the dark days of Suharto's New Order regime. It does nothing to enhance democratic gains made since 1998 (when former president Suharto was ousted from power)," she said.

Wong said by authorising the fresh attacks o­n Aceh, Megawati also contradicted her own anti-war position when she condemned the US-led war in Iraq.

"War is never the answer to a political stalemate. Megawati knows this all too well considering that she had eloquently condemned the war in Iraq.

"We have witnessed close to three decades of war in Aceh and the deaths of tens of thousands of its civilians. Indonesian must return to the negotiation table unless its true intention is to rule over the graveyards of Aceh," she added.

Independence bid

The Free Aceh Movement was founded in 1976 to fight for independence from Indonesian rule, which has since cost the lives of about 10,000 Acehnese.

GAM leaders have maintained that the province should not be incorporated into the Indonesian republic as it was never formally ruled by the Dutch - as was with the other parts of the country.

The talks in Japan came as a last ditched effort to save a five-month-old ceasefire agreement between Jakarta and GAM brokered by Switzerland's conflict-resolution organisation Henry Dunant Centre.

However, Indonesians officials have blamed the failure of the talks o­n the refusal of GAM separatists to give up their demand for independence.