Jakarta – The head of rebels fighting for independence in Indonesia's Aceh province accused the military on Monday of not wanting peace as that would undermined its interests in the resource-rich area.

"The Indonesian military has its own economic, political, military and psychological interests in mind – and not those of the Acehnese or even their fellow Indonesians," Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commander Muzakkir Manaf said.

Aceh is a source of income for the military, including the foreign aid pouring into the region after the devastating December 26 earthquake and tsunamis, he said in a statement. "A peace agreement might deny them that loot," he said.

Manaf said the military's opposition to peace talks between the rebels and the Indonesian government in Finland was reflected in comments by military chief General Endriartono Sutarto, who said GAM was not united and did not have the support of all the people of Aceh.

Sutarto said in Singapore on Saturday that GAM's forces were fractured and some factions were not only against the peace talks but also refused to obey the decisions taken by their exiled leaders in Sweden.

He also said that GAM did not represent the overwhelming majority of the Acehnese people. "What he is really saying is the following: 'If GAM can't make the agreement work among its own forces and among Achehnese, why are we bothering with these stupid talks. Let's keep fighting,'" Manaf said.

The Indonesian military has vowed to continue to conduct anti-rebel operations in Aceh as long as there was no peace settlement to the three-decade conflict. It has repeatedly said GAM was a threat to security.

"If any armed group is going to stop the agreement from working in the field or at the table, it will be the Indonesian military," Manaf said. A just settlement in Aceh would also challenge the military's claim to be the glue that holds Indonesia together, he said.

As negotiators in Helsinki draw closer to such a settlement, powerful elements of the Indonesian military were growing increasingly desperate, he said.

Indonesian government and GAM negotiators ended the latest round of talks in Helsinki last week and agreed to meet again in July.

Aceh, a western Indonesian province, has been a battleground for government and armed rebels since 1976 when GAM launched its campaign for independence, angered by what it said was Jakarta's exploitation of the province's oil and gas resources.

Peace talks to end the conflict were launched in Helsinki earlier this year after both sides agreed to return to the table in the wake of the December tsunami disaster.