Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have removed the military chief of Maluku province following a surprise separatist protest in front of the president there last month, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

The protest saw a group of traditional dancers slip security to unfurl an outlawed flag in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the provincial capital of Ambon and caused a furore across Indonesia.

"It already happened last week," military spokesman Sagom Tamboen told AFP, referring to the removal of Major General Sudarmaidy from the top military position in Maluku.

He declined to comment on whether the removal was linked to the protest and could not immediately say where the former provincial commander would go. The replacement came to light a day after the provincial police chief was removed over the June 29 incident.

The dancers had displayed the flag of the South Maluku Republic, which was crushed by Jakarta shortly after it was declared in 1950. The movement supporting it however was revived after the fall of president Suharto in 1998.

Sudarmaidy was replaced by Major General Rasyid Qurnuen Aquary, who was until his new appointment the head of Indonesia's Kopassus special forces, Tamboen said.

There is great sensitivity in Jakarta over separatist sentiment flaring anywhere in the diverse and sprawling archipelago nation.