Here are key dates in the history of Aceh province, where the Indonesian army Thursday completed a troop pullout as part of a historic peace pact:
1873 - Dutch colonisers declare war on the staunchly Muslim sultanate of Aceh, one of the last parts of the archipelago to come under their rule. The conflict lasts 30 years and costs some 10,000 Dutch lives.
1945 - Indonesia declares independence from the Dutch.
1953 - Aceh declares itself an independent state, prompting several years of conflict with Indonesia.
1959 - Jakarta gives Aceh "special territory" status, granting autonomy in religious, educational and cultural matters.
1976 - Hasan Tiro founds the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). He leaves the country for exile in Sweden in 1979 but the conflict continues.
1989 - President Suharto orders a harsh 10-year military operation against GAM in which thousands of civilians and others are killed.
August 2000 - President Abdurrahman Wahid promises the province special autonomy including a much greater share of energy revenues. GAM sticks to its goal of full independence.
December 9, 2002 - The Indonesian government and GAM meet in Geneva and sign a peace pact, following mediation by the Henry Dunant Centre. The pact soon runs into trouble.
May 19, 2003 - Indonesia announces the start of a major military operation and martial law in Aceh following the failure of a last-minute peace meeting in Tokyo.
December 26, 2004 - A massive tsunami off the coast of Indonesia leaves some 168,000 dead in Aceh.
January 2005 - Following the tsunami catastrophe, GAM and the government meet in Finland for the first time since the collapse of the peace deal in
July 17, 2005 - The government and GAM announce an agreement to end the fighting that is to be signed on August 15 in Helsinki.
August 9, 2005 - The Indonesian parliament gives its unanimous support to the peace deal.
August 15, 2005 - The Indonesian government and GAM sign their historic peace pact in Helsinki.
August 22, 2005 - Indonesia pulls out first batch of non-local troops.
August 30, 2005 - Indonesian president signs a decree announcing amnesties for 1,400 GAM political prisoners.
September 12, 2005 - Foreign monitors begin arriving to oversee the implementation of the peace pact.
September 15, 2005 - GAM starts to disarm, surrendering weapons to the monitors.
October 31, 2005 - GAM spokesman Bachtiar Abdullah returns to Aceh for the first time in 25 years after living in exile in Sweden.
December 19, 2005 - GAM meets its quota for surrendering weapons to international monitors.
December 27, 2005 - GAM dissolves its military wing.
December 29, 2005 - Indonesia pulls out the final batch of its non-local troops.
