The Indonesian Government and rebels from the province of Aceh signed a peace treaty this morning in Helsinki that could bring to an end South East Asia's longest running war.

The signing of the treaty this morning, in which the separatist rebels known as the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, renounced their claim for full independence in return for an amnesty and participation in Indonesian politics, came after seven months of negotiations.

More than 10,000 people are believed to have died in Aceh's war of independence against the Indonesian Government over the last 30 years. More than 4,000 people, including an unknown number of civilians, have died since the last peace treaty fell apart and martial law was declared in the western-most province of Indonesia in 2003.

The war has been fought in near secrecy, with international observers strictly barred. In recent years, human rights organisations have accused the Indonesian Government of killing civilians with impunity, forcibly moving communities and murdering children.

This morning's deal, which was signed by the Indonesian Justice and Human Rights Minister, Hamid Awaluddin, and Malik Mahmud, the exiled leader of GAM, was brokered by the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who has overseen peace treaties in the Balkans and Namibia.

The province of Aceh, which is thick with jungle and also has valuable oil and gas reserves, was devastated by the tsunami on Boxing Day last year. The waves left 168,000 dead and almost 600,000 homeless, of whom more than 150,000 are still living in camps.

The tsunami provided the first opportunity for decades for international aid organisations and foreign governments to visit Aceh, where GAM declared a truce in the days after the disaster. Since then, America and the European Union have put pressure on Jakarta to find a way to end the violence.

Human rights observers cautiously welcomed the treaty this morning, saying that a lasting peace will depend on whether the Indonesian army supports the deal and how the Acehnese rebels are included in the political process.

The peace deal promises that a court will be set up in Aceh to try war crimes and that the peace will be overseen by monitors from the European Union and Southeast Asian countries.

"The problems with the 2003 peace deal may be the same as the problems with the peace deal signed today. We would have liked to have seen more actors involved in the process," said Charmain Mohamed, an Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch.

"The involvement of the military will be crucial. They have only paid attention to the negotiations very recently and their participation and full support for the treat will be absolutely critical," she told Times Online.

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