JAKARTA (JP): Tens of thousands of people rallied peacefully in Sigli, Aceh, on Thursday demanding a referendum on self-determination for the province, a local police chief said.

In Jakarta, President Abdurrahman Wahid told foreign journalists that he would not be rushed into calling for a referendum in the restive province.

Lt. Col. Endang E. Bagus, chief of the Pidie regency police, was quoted by Antara as saying that the protesters paraded around the town on foot, in trucks and on motorcycles.

The protest, which began at 8:30 a.m., ended four hours later without any major incidents, he said.

"We are glad that the parade was as peaceful as the organizers had promised," Endang was quoted as saying.

Quoting Pidie Military chief Lt. Col. Iskandar Sahil, AFP said the protesters assembled in three areas -- Glumpang Minyuek, Uleeglee and Padang Tiji -- before marching on the town's main thoroughfare, carrying banners and shouting slogans.

They circled Sigli Grand Mosque, stopping short of entering the downtown area to prevent traffic congestion, Iskandar said.

The group proceeded toward Daud Beureuh mosque in Kotamini, 18 kilometers east of Sigli, where speakers took turns in rallying the crowd behind their referendum demands.

President Abdurrahman, in his first meeting with Jakarta-based foreign journalists, said he did not oppose the call for a referendum in Aceh.

"I supported a referendum, of course," he said when a journalist reminded him of a statement he had made during a visit to Banda Aceh before becoming president.

"If we can do it in East Timor, why can't we do it in Aceh," he said, according to an unofficial transcript of the briefing.

"That is not the question. The question is, if there is a referendum, then when? We do not like to be rushed into these things.

"The question of whether or not there is a referendum should not be decided by me, but by the people of Aceh themselves. So we have to develop a way of knowing the feelings of the Acehnese people."

The President confirmed he had met with a very senior official from the Free Aceh Movement, but would not disclose the contents of the meeting, which aides said took place on Sunday.

The Sigli proreferendum rally, the largest since Abdurrahman was elected president on Oct. 21, came two days after police shot and wounded 19 people in the West Acehnese capital of Meulaboh.

The incident occurred when some 5,000 people tried to force soldiers at the local military post to lower the Indonesian flag.

The protesters torched government property, including a prison, forcing authorities to free some 60 inmates.

Aceh has been racked by clashes between the military and armed separatist rebels since the 1970s.

Last week, an independent inquiry blamed the military for the deaths of 51 unarmed civilians during a raid on a Muslim boarding school in West Aceh in July. The findings contradicted the military's claim that there was armed resistance during the raid on the boarding school, believed to have been used as a rebel base.

The new Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Commander Adm. Widodo A.S. made his mark the moment he stepped into Gen. Wiranto's shoes on Wednesday, declaring the end of the "security approach" to the problems in Aceh.

The gesture meant the withdrawal of all combat troops from the province, he told reporters after the hand over ceremony. (byg/prb)