Separatist movements exist in Madura, Kalimantan and the Moluccas, though they are puny in comparison with the two best organised, in Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra, and, at the other extremity, in West Papua (formerly called Irian Jaya, and before that West New Guinea) some 4, 000km (2, 500 miles) away to the east.

ECONOMIST: After East Timor's independence

This is aimed at cutting off what little international support there might be for separatist rebels in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya).

ECONOMIST: Gloom over Indonesia

Furthermore, the central government continues to try to undermine the provincial administrations and destabilise their security: for instance, it plans to carve up West Papua (formerly called Irian Jaya) into three parts, and recently sent the army's special forces back to the province, even though they had been implicated in the murder of a local separatist politician.

ECONOMIST: War on the separatists