Yudhoyono shrugs off Nobel prize speculation

OSLO, Sep 13 (Reuters) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said today that all sides deserved credit for a peace deal in Indonesia's Aceh province and brushed aside speculation that he might win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Yudhoyono reaffirmed his commitment to work to achieve a final peace in the province where a truce between the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement has been in place since August 2005 after nearly three decades of fighting.

Australian bookmakers Centrebet, the first to allow betting on the prize, tips Yudhoyono as most likely to win at 4-1 odds, ahead of former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari who mediated the Aceh truce.

''Many people, many sides have contributed to ending conflict in Aceh, Yudhoyono said. ''I have to admit that, and I think credit must be given to all parties, to everybody who has been part of this peace process of ending conflict in Aceh -- on both sides.'' ''I am humbled to be nominated for the Nobel prize, but my focus, my task and my work is now ensuring that the ongoing peace process in Aceh is moving well and achieving the overall objective of peace in Aceh,'' Yudhoyono said.

His remarks at a news conference came during a visit to the Norwegian capital where the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on October 13.

A final peace in Aceh would be followed by more work to reintegrate people into society and rebuild the economy, Yudhoyono said after meeting Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to discuss a wide range of topics.

Yudhoyono said that he also hoped that local elections in Aceh in December would go well.

He said in a speech at Oslo's Nobel Institute, where the Nobel prize winner is announced, that Jakarta had learned from Aceh and that he hoped the lessons would help it resolve problems in Papua where it also faces simmering separatism.

''Like Aceh, what is needed is a fresh approach to develop trust and confidence, while addressing the legitimate grievances in Papua,'' he said.

He said his government's ''New Deal'' for Papua would provide more social services, economic and educational opportunities as well as ''special autonomy'' for the people of the region.

''This, after all, is one of the most important lessons that we derived from our experience in Aceh: every peacemaking effort must take into account the needs and aspirations of the particular community,'' Yudhoyono said.

He declined to single out any representative of the separatist side of the Aceh conflict who could deserve to share a peace prize with him.

The Nobel Committee has sometimes chosen to reward both sides of a conflict to bolster a peace process.

Stein Toennesson, head of Oslo's Peace Research Institute, said it would probably be impossible for the committee to give the prize to Yudhoyono without also rewarding the rebel side.

But Toennesson said it would also be hard for the Committee to award the peace prize to rebel leader Tengku Hasan di Tiro who founded the Free Aceh Movement and led an armed insurrection for decades.

Centrebet put Finland's Ahtisaari in second place at 5-1 odds to win the prize.

REUTERS LL RN2126