Slobodan Lekic, Sabang – Indonesia's president on Tuesday accused disgruntled army generals and radical Muslims of provoking violence that threatens his fledgling democratic government and the unity of the sprawling Southeast Asian nation.

President Abdurrahman Wahid refused to identify the provocateurs in his speech to reporters after leading a peace mission to the troubled northwestern province of Aceh.

"I cannot divulge their names because we still have to [get] proof," he said. "Those Muslim militants, those generals who are not satisfied, would like to rule forever."

In a blunt warning, he said some supporters of his 3-month-old ruling coalition were threatening to kill troublemakers if the violence persists. "People have already [told] me that they will take the lives of so-and-so," he said.

The president also said the army should not defend members of the security forces accused of human rights abuses.

A key feature of his visit was a peacemaking ritual involving Muslim students protesters and police in Sabang, an island in the Indian ocean off the northern tip of Sumatra.

An Islamic clergyman sprayed water and rice over the bowed heads of the rival groups as Wahid stood by and a choir chanted verses from the Koran.

"This traditional ceremony is a very big thing, it means that society is now at peace with the security forces," Wahid said. "It shows that things can be settled in an amicable way."

Like many Acehnese, the students have demanded an independent Islamic state. The group strongly backs rebels who have been fighting government forces in a war that has claimed some 5,000 people in the past 10 years.

The rebels stayed away from the ceremony. So did army troops blamed for most of the human rights violations.

Wahid said 145 rebels have surrendered to security forces in south Aceh on Sunday. He said he expects the insurgency to ebb as army commanders responsible for rights abuses are brought to justice.