After nearly a quarter of a century of fighting, the Indonesian government and rebels in the province of Aceh have taken a first, albeit shaky, step toward a peaceful solution to their conflict. Earlier this month, the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement that opens the way for dialogue and negotiations that could resolve a dispute that has claimed 5,000 lives in the past decade alone. It is a big "if": There is precious little common ground between the two sides.

Officials from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government last week signed a three-month ceasefire that goes into effect June 2. The difficulties that lie ahead were immediately evident. Mr. Hasan Tiro, the rebel leader, refused to sign the deal agreement because Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid would not be a signatory. Instead, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab signed for the government and a lesser rebel official signed for GAM. Then the fiercely nationalistic GAM rejected use of Bahasa Indonesian, the nation's official language; instead the document was written in English.

Trust is in short supply. As a result, negotiations seem to be a zero-sum contest. The rebels are demanding that the army withdraw from Aceh, a province located on the northern tip of Sumatra. Neither the army nor the government has shown any inclination toward complying. Worse, soldiers and rebels clashed a day after the signing ceremony. The ceasefire does not go into effect for another 10 days, but it is clear that the peace will be extremely fragile.