Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here Tuesday that the presence of foreign observers in Aceh province is not an interference in Indonesia's internal affairs.

Over 200 members of the strong Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), consisting of members from the European Union and five Southeast Asian nations, have begun their mission in the rebellious province of Aceh Tuesday.

"The conflict in Aceh is our internal affairs, we have never internationalized it," said President Susilo in a speech at the parliament ahead of Indonesia's Aug. 17 independence day.

"The presence of the foreign monitoring team from European Union and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to oversee the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding is not a foreign interference in our internal affairs," he noted.

The president reminded that Indonesia had also carried out the same task, monitoring the process of unification of two Vietnams as well as the cease-fire in the peace process between the government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

In addition to monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement signed on Monday in Helsinki by the Aceh rebels and the Indonesian government, the monitoring team will also oversee the pulling out of the government troops, decommissioning of rebel's arms and amnesty reward for the rebels.

The president also denied foreign interference in settling the Papua issue, saying that the history of the easternmost province of Papua is an integral part of Indonesia.

Since its independence in 1945, Indonesia has stipulated that Papua is part of the unitary state of Indonesia, although the province remained under the rule of the Dutch until 1962. The central government granted special autonomy to Papua in 2001 to help curb separatist movements in the province.

"There exist no manipulations of history that must be revised. Viewed from the perspective of international law, there is no more reason to doubt the legitimacy of Papua as an integral part," Susilo said.

Source: Xinhua