Indonesia would disintegrate if the rebellious province of Aceh broke away and became independent, Mr Amien Rais, Speaker of the country's highest legislative assembly, warned yesterday.
He said Indonesia must not underestimate demands by the resource-rich, staunchly Muslim province for a referendum on independence. Aceh is on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
"I am sure that Aceh is part of the nation of Indonesia, but their will for a referendum must not be underestimated," said Mr Rais, Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), a higher body than the nation's parliament.
The parliamentary Speaker, Mr Akbar Tandjung, was earlier quoted as saying that legislators did not back a referendum in Aceh on independence.
At least half a million people swept into the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Monday, demanding the right to vote on whether to break from Jakarta rule, in the largest protest of its kind in Indonesian history. In response, President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia has said he supports allowing the province to vote on its future, although he has not made any concrete offer of a referendum.