 Hundreds of villagers have fled the crackdown |
The Indonesian Government has said that its military campaign in the province of Aceh is on track, three months into what is supposed to be a six-month operation. "What has been achieved is more than we planned at the outset," Jakob Tobing, an MP for the ruling PDI-P party, told the BBC.
"Within three months, most of the targets have been achieved," Mr Tobing told the World Today programme.
The fighting is continuing. Four rebels were killed on Monday, according to a military spokesman, with a further 20 deaths reported over the weekend.
The military says it has killed more than 700 rebels since the crackdown began, while only 58 soldiers and police have been lost.
The rebels dispute this figure, but with restricted media access in the province, independent information is difficult to obtain.
The military has come under increasing pressure from human rights groups, who say that civilians are being targeted as well as rebels.
There have been several reports of atrocities since the campaign began, and large numbers of civilians have fled the areas most affected by the fighting.
On Tuesday, more than 300 refugees from Aceh were arrested by police in Malaysia after they tried to register at the country's United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
UNHCR officials have said they fear for the safety of any Acehnese refugees forcibly sent back to Indonesia.
The BBC's Jonathan Kent in Kuala Lumpur says that some of those arrested told him they believed they would be killed if they returned to Aceh.
Casualties admission
Mr Tobing admitted that "quite a number" of civilians had been killed in the conflict so far, but said it was often difficult for the military to isolate rebel fighters, as members of the rebel Free Aceh Movement (Gam) frequently mixed with the local population.
He denied, however, that the military successes had come at the price of alienating the local population.
And he insisted that at the end of the military campaign, the government would still be able to win over the Acehnese people.
"We have a plan - not only a military operation," Mr Tobing said.
"With the budget dedicated to the development of the area, I think we can win the hearts and minds of the people in Aceh," he told the BBC.
The army launched its campaign on 18 May, following the collapse of last-ditch peace talks with the rebels.
Gam has been fighting for an independent state in Aceh since 1976. At least 12,000 people have died in the campaign since then.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
With the budget dedicated to the development of the area, I think we can win the hearts and minds of the people in Aceh 
