The Russians have Chechnya, the Iraqis have the Kurds; Indonesia has Aceh. For decades Aceh, the northern Sumatran province have been fighting for autonomy. The people there are fiercely religious Muslims and historically, they have been known to defend their homeland bravely against colonialists and invaders.

The Indonesian army has over the decades used heavy force to control the region, resulting in many alleged claims of brutality and violation of human rights. Leading the fight for Aceh independence is the Free Aceh Movement, GAM (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka). Talks for peace between the Indonesian government and GAM broke down recently and the government has threatened to go to war with GAM over Aceh

Some have put the blame for he recent bomb blasts - 3 within a month - on GAM. Though GAM has denied any responsibility for the blasts, suspicions still lingers as the modus operandi for the three are similar and a GAM suspect has been arrested for the first.

No matter who is responsible for planting these bombs, it looks like they are not going to stop anytime soon. There have been no claims for responsibility - like all the previous blasts before. The main aim is to create a climate of fear. Even though Jakartans and Indonesians in general are quite used to such occassional acts of terrorism, foreigners will view these things negatively and this will definitely impact Indonesia's economic recovery. And next year is Indonesia's general elections. Life here is never quiet.