Tom McCawley, Jakarta – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia's chief security minister, arrived in the troubled Aceh province on Tuesday as Jakarta considered declaring a civil emergency to end a 26-year war with separatists.
Mr Susilo flew to Banda Aceh, the province's capital, to assess conditions as officials in Jakarta showed signs they were losing patience with two years of peace talks.
Ibrahim Ambong, head of a parliamentary security commission, said: "We've given them all they want, special autonomy, more oil and gas revenue, special rules. If they still want independence there's no reason to tolerate them." Last week Mr Susilo asked parliament to recommend a civil emergency, labelling the main separatist group the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) as "terrorists".
A civil emergency would bring Aceh, Indonesia's westernmost province, closer to full martial law and allow the army to search houses and detain civilians.
Separatists such as the GAM have been fighting the Indonesian government since 1976, intensifying calls for independence and an Islamic state.
More than 3,000 people have died in the conflict since the authoritarian former president Suharto stepped down in 1998. Mr Suharto began a brutal, nine-year military operation in 1989 that he said would crush the rebels.
Last month rebels kidnapped and detained some 18 people, including nine workers on a boat chartered by ExxonMobil.
Ryamizard Ryacudu, army chief, told journalists in Jakarta: "Anyone with common sense can see that the kidnappings, burning and terror need tough military action." Perceptions of widespread human rights abuses by Indonesian soldiers have fed public demands for a referendum on independence.
Acehnese community groups have also complained Jakarta has siphoned off the province's mineral wealth and given little in return.
ExxonMobil Indonesia, a unit of the giant US energy company, operates the Arun LNG field in North Aceh, producing almost a fifth of total oil and gas exports.
Jakarta has tried to stave off separatist sentiment by offering Aceh's 4m people special administrative autonomy and up to 85 per cent of mineral revenue.
However, the conflict between Indonesian soldiers and rebel forces has continued, despite two years of peace talks in Geneva. The last round of talks was in May.
Acehnese leaders have rejected calls for the civil emergency. "Military solutions have been tried several times since 1976, and none have worked," said Ahman Farhan Hamid, an Acehnese member of parliament.
Acehnese human rights activists claimed a civil emergency would repeat Mr Suharto's military operation, and strengthen calls for independence. "A repressive approach will not only hurt combatants," said Ahmad Humam Hamid, of the human rights forum. "It will hurt civilians."