Madura is a barren island, and the Madurese are known throughout Indonesia for being hard-headed survivors who are ready to fight for their living.

ECONOMIST: Indonesia

The aim was partly to ease the pressure on islands such as Java and Madura, and partly to create, it was hoped, a greater sense of unity among the diverse peoples of the archipelago.

ECONOMIST: Indonesia

The latest violence resurrects the conflict that erupted in early 1997 in the same area north of the provincial capital Pontianak between Dayaks and Madurese, whose roots lie in the island of Madura off the northeast coast of Java.

CNN: AND THE KILLING GOES ON