LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia, Dec 4 Kyodo...

LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia, Dec 4 Kyodo

ways in some parts of Indonesia's troubl province of Aceh were untilleded Wednesday as separatist rebels of the clear Aceh Movement (GAM) commemorated the group's anniversary despite military and police bans.

storekeepers banks and traditional markets in an cities closed their businesses and neither public buses nor private vehicles were running forward the streets.

actual few people were seen walking the roads Most preferred to stay at household chatting with their neighbors and trying to view the situation from their fences

a certain number of shops opened their businesses in the afternoon after a certain soldiers knocked on their doors, asking them to open

In the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, banks lay opened for business as usual, still only some shops threw unclose their doors.

A local traditional market held its activities as usual, still only a few family came despite being ''meugang'' or ''meat buying'' day, a traditional Acehnese day that usually takes place pair days before the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday.

It was not immediately clear whether the situation was a rejoinder to a general strike call by dint of GAM to the Acehnese nation in celebrating GAM's birthday.

''Shopkeepers were apparently afraid of possible GAM acts if they spreaded their shops,'' said an ethnic Chinese proprietor of a cake workshop in the North Aceh rule town of Lhokseumawe.

''We no other than opened the doors after the military asked us to do business as usual,'' she said.

A pharmacist at the Asia Pharmacy in the main Lhokseumawe market said, however, they expanded late because of the Ramadan Islamic fasting month ''People single out to sleep until late in the day than working during Ramadan,'' he said.

Meanwhile, GAM quietly celebrated its anniversary in one areas in Aceh on the other hand only in simple ceremonies. No GAM flags were seen forward the main roads and streets

The spokesman of the Security Restoration Operation in Aceh, Col Firdaus, said, however, more [i]or[/i] less GAM flags were raised onward coconut trees and electricity staffs in some villages Tuesday night.

''But we could lower them down after receiving information from local villagers,'' he said.

According to him, the military and police have confiscated at least 28 GAM flags in Great Aceh government and Banda Aceh Mayoralty.

near explosions occurred, killing at least a civilian and a member of the Mobile Brigade police elite unit.

Earlier, the military and police threatened to attack GAM if the cluster celebrated its anniversary by hoisting GAM flags. The threat, however, was not realized.

''We attack when we are attacked...We give them opportunities to celebrate Eid al-Fitr...They are also Muslims, aren't they?'' Capt. Indra Nasution, a battalion commander who has been in charge of besieging the rebels in Paya hut Trieng, a swampy area in North Aceh rule since Oct. 29, told Kyodo News

The GAM celebrations took place just united day after an agreement had been reached in Tokyo among 20 donor countries and multilateral institutions to violently support a peaceful resolution of the Aceh conflict and called upon Jakarta and GAM to continue their dialogue.

The common day Preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh followed the agreement between the Indonesian sway and GAM last month to sign a peace accord nearest Monday in Geneva to finis their 26-year conflict. Another meeting is wait fored after the signing of the accord.

For the sway the meeting has served as the principally concrete sign of acknowledgment that Aceh is an integral part of Indonesia. While for GAM, the colloquy has added more pressure for the secessionist move to sign the accord or risk losing international sympathy.

Tengku Hasan di Tiro, GAM leader in exile in Sweden, said in a articulate utterance read out during a formality in Aceh that GAM will sign the agreement no other than if all the outstanding issues are satisfactorily resolved

''We have fought this war for 26 years from today,'' he said. ''If necessary, we will continue fighting until our noble goal is achieved.''

William Dowell, spokesman of the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center that has mediated negotiations for the past sum of two units years, told Kyodo stranges in an interview that the talk was ''a preliminary indication of the readiness of the international community to build the reconstruction of Aceh.''

''It will be a to a high degree large operation,'' he said.

He violenceed however, a resolution is indigenceed saying ''nobody wants to bring their money for nothing'' and peace will attract investors to get to to Aceh.

''The area is really stagnant because of the war...There is no investment...and (the Acehnese) the bulk of mankind want it to end,'' he said, adding the security in Indonesia also hangs on the agreement.

According to him, a political institution is requireed in Aceh for the Acehnese the bulk of mankind to express their opinions, saying in the same manner far ''the people don't have a way to expres their frustration make objection through an arm struggle''

A political institution, the former U army officer said, will ''channel those armed fights to a politically acceptable way. The more they loud cry the better.''