Politicians under pressure to deliver in time of need

The disaster has put a spotlight on government response in the four worst hit countries.

It represents the biggest political test for Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono since the former army general was elected president in October, based on a reputation for efficiency.

That image threatens to be damaged by reports that the government is struggling to deliver aid to several million people in northern Sumatra island, the region hardest hit. Local government institutions are reported to have ceased to function, with hospitals and medical services in disarray. Emergency aid had been piling up due to bureaucratic delays and the difficulty of delivering food to remote areas.

The disaster could further inflame political troubles that have plagued the northern Sumatra province of Aceh, which has been engulfed in a separatist rebellion since the late 1970s.

Some analysts suggest that disaster might ease tensions in the province. The Free Aceh Movement has called a ceasefire, while the government has lifted a ban on allowing international aid agencies into the area.

In India, residents of the worst affected coastal areas have already got used to a seemingly unending stream of visiting politicians - few of them bringing emergency relief. India's opposition parties on Thursday accused the Congress-led coalition government of responding inadequately to the crisis.

Visiting a badly hit coastal strip in Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, former chief minister of the southern state, on Thursday said: "Everywhere there is negligence - nothing is being done."

In Sri Lanka, the government and the main opposition party are displaying a rare show of political solid arity after the catastrophe. President Chandrika Kumaratunga has formed an all-party committee to manage political issues arising from the disaster.

The government and the separatist Tamil Tigers are also co-operating in local relief efforts. Despite deep mistrust between the sides, Mrs Kumaratunga has invited a Tamil Tiger represented to join the all-party group, an invitation the Tigers are still considering.

In Thailand, the tsunami has left the political set-up remarkably undisturbed. "This is a natural disaster, a tragedy, that was beyond our nightmares. This is beyond politics," said Chuan Leekpai, the former prime minister and member of the opposition Democrat party.

The opposition Democrat and Mahachon parties announced soon after the wave hit Thailand that they would suspend political campaigns for the February general election to help with the relief effort. The death toll may have been high but it is concentrated in six tourist-orientated provinces and many of the dead are foreigners. The general mood is that it would be inappropriate to make any political capital out of a "unforeseeable, natural disaster", according to one western diplomat.

Reporting by John Burton, Edward Luce, William Barnes and Ray Marcelo