Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais says the government should not hesitate to take drastic measures against "troublemakers" in Aceh rebellious Aceh province.

"If necessary, cut off the hands of those troublemakers," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara on Monday.

At the beginning of this year the government gave Aceh special autonomy, the right to implement Islamic law and a greater share of the profits from its vast natural resources, in the hope of quelling support for the province's separatist movement, which has been fighting for independence since 1976.

Rais said the government has not been serious in dealing with violence in several parts of the country, including Aceh. He said the unrest has claimed numerous lives and is threatening the pillars of national integration.

The MPR speaker pointed out that by drastic measures he does not mean that security authorities should become trigger-happy in attacking perceived enemies of the state. He said the bottom line is that troublemakers must be arrested and prosecuted through the due process of the law.

Rais categorized Aceh's troublemakers into four groups: first, the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) with its ideological, political and economic goals; second, hoodlums and gangsters; third, criminals; and fourth, drug traffickers.

The Indonesian military has been accused of playing a key role in Aceh's drugs trade. The province is the source of most of the marijuana available in Indonesia.