The Indonesian government will firstly collect information on referendum plan in Aceh province in a bid to seek a peaceful and fair settlement to the decades-old Aceh problem, a senior official said in Jakarta on November 10.

President Abdurrahman Wahid has ordered State Minister for Human Right Affairs Hasbalah M. Saad to visit Aceh and meet local figures to collect information for government in its attempt to give correct response to the province's problems, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Wiranto said.

Wiranto said after a meeting which attended by the president, vice president, chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and himself, that the government will also put in order deployment of security personnel including the shift of troops and additional police officers in the province.

The urgent meeting was held after the president turned home Tuesday night following an eight-day visit to ASEAN countries which brought him to Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

More than one million Acehnese on Monday attended a meeting in Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province, demanding a referendum on the right of the people of that province to self determination. this was an impressive display of solidarity since the independence group Free Aceh Movement unilaterally declared independence on December 4, 1976.

But, President Wahid pointed out earlier that there is no way that Aceh could break away from Indonesia, although a referendum was a reasonable proposition. However, the president agreed to investigate and bring to court those who violate the human rights in the province under the rule of Soeharto regime in the past 30 years.

Wiranto said the key words that have to be remembered in solving the problem is that Aceh is still part of the Unitary State of Indonesia, and that all problems should be settled wisely.

Meanwhile, MPR Chairman Amien Rais said that the demand filed by the Acehnese for a referendum must not be ignored and that therefore the government must immediately negotiate this matter with the Acehnese.

However, he believed that most of the Aceh people still want the province to remain part of Indonesia.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung also said he disagreed with a referendum plan for the troubled province of Aceh.

Referendum will only be a negative precedent for other provinces. If the referendum took place, it would mean that Indonesia is on the brink of disintegration, Tandjung said.

He said the House of Representatives (DPR) has put Aceh at its top priority. A special meeting has been arranged. The meeting will discuss the establishment of a DPR team for Aceh.

Aceh, the east most province of Indonesia with a population of only about 4.3 million people, has a history of rebellion against foreign rule. The Dutch only managed to wholly occupied the territory in the 1930s, long after they had firmly established themselves in the rest of the Indonesian archipelago.

When the Indonesian Republic proclaimed its independence from the Dutch in 1945, Aceh emerged as a strong backer of the Indonesian nationalist cause, supporting the new republic with donations of money and materials. However, in the 1950s, a popular insurgency movement against the Jakarta administration arose, bringing new unrest to the territory for many years. Since then, trouble has continued to brew, on and off.

The new government which was established at the end of October headed by Wahid has determined to give top priority to the settlement of the Aceh problem.