Indonesia will let the troubled province of Aceh secede if the people there voted for independence in a referendum, its President, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, said yesterday.
Asked by reporters about a comment by the Indonesian Regional Minister that there was a "fifty-fifty" chance that the Aceh people would vote for independence if an East Timor-style referendum was held, Mr Wahid replied: "The consequences of a referendum, whatever is the outcome, we will accept."
He said, however, that there was still no timetable for such a referendum.
"If we can have a referendum in East Timor, why not in Aceh? This is called justice," Mr Wahid told reporters at Manila airport.
He expressed confidence that the Acehnese people would choose to stay with Jakarta if such a vote were to be held, unlike East Timor which voted overwhelmingly for independence during the August 30th referendum administered by the UN.
Asked whether he would visit the province, he said: "Oh yes, of course," adding that he would bring the Vice-President, Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri, with him.