Presidential front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday called for a peaceful end to Indonesia's 28-year conflict in Aceh province. On Wednesday, Yudhoyono told a group of teachers visiting his home on the outskirts of Jakarta that he would work to settle the conflict by peaceful means. "Let us not just go ahead with the military operation," Yudhoyono said. "Our country must remain united and on that there is no compromise. But (the conflict) must be resolved in a fair manner and as peacefully as possibly." With 93 million of the estimated 125 million votes counted on Wednesday, Yudhoyono was leading with 61 percent to Megawati's 39 percent, according to the General Election Commission. Yudhoyono, 55, has so far declined to claim victory, and Megawati has not conceded. The official tally could be announced by Oct. 1 and the new president is to be sworn in Oct. 20 for a five-year term. A confident Yudhoyono said he would avoid traveling outside Indonesia during his first hundred days as president while dealing with the problems in Aceh and other spots in the vast archipelago. "I will try to deal with the domestic problems: in Aceh, Papua, Poso, and Maluku," Yudhoyono said.
