JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Heavily armed troops patrolled the deserted streets of a restive provincial capital Friday, after separatists marred Indonesia's independence-day celebrations by setting off 16 small bombs.Meanwhile, Indonesia's political elite gathered at the state palace in Jakarta on Friday for an emotional ceremony at which new President Megawati Sukarnoputri - the daughter of the nation's founding father, Sukarno - received Indonesia's flag of independence, sewn by her mother in 1945.
In the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Friday, soldiers patrolled the city on foot and in trucks after the 16 bombs exploded Thursday night. (Read photo caption)
Tensions in Aceh, a province on the northern tip of Sumatra island, rose further after security forces announced they had unearthed a mass grave containing 48 bodies in the west of the province. It's the largest mass grave found so far in this 25-year war.
An army spokesman, Lt. Col. Firdaus, accused separatist rebels for the killings, saying the burial site had been uncovered after authorities received a tip from a captured guerrilla.
But the Free Aceh Movement immediately denied the charges.
Rebel spokesman Ayah Sofyan said the victims were local civilians abducted by military death squads over a period of several weeks. They were executed and buried separately, he said.
Human rights groups have in the past accused the government troops of committing atrocities and orchestrating a terror campaign against the population, although the separatists also have been denounced for executing numerous individuals with ties to the Indonesian administration.
Megawati has apologized for past atrocities committed by the army in Aceh, but urged separatists to give up their armed struggle.
In Jakarta on Friday, the new head of state presided over the military ceremony attended by several thousand dignitaries. It was held in the same palace where she lived until her father was ousted after a military takeover in 1965. This ushered in the brutal, 32-year dictatorship of former strongman Suharto.
Megawati, during her state of the nation speech on Thursday, urged the military to reform itself and appealed to international creditors to give her government ``room to breathe'' as it seeks to revive the moribund economy.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Members of Indonesia's elite police mobile unit patrol a major Banda Aceh - Medan highway in the separatist province of Aceh on August 17, 2001. Separatist rebels have been blocking roads with trees, small huts and boulders to prevent people travelling to cities to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day on Friday. More than 1,500 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in the province since January. REUTERS/Beawiharta