Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's supreme military commander has warned the separatist movement in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh that he would prefer war to a negotiated settlement to the 26-year-old dispute.

In a series of blunt remarks to the Free Aceh Movement known as GAM, Indonesia's new commander of the armed forces, General Endriartono Sutarto, said GAM were "traitors" who were "betraying Indonesia" and should be attacked.

General Endriartono warned: "We cannot continue with the way things are ... "I am trained for war so I would choose war – not negotiation – to end the problems in Aceh but it's not me that makes the decision." General Endriartono appeared frustrated with the military's inability to crush GAM, despite several thousand troops sent to Aceh recently to bolster more than 20,000 soldiers who heavily outnumber the GAM guerillas.

He also expressed annoyance with the Indonesian media, who he said treated GAM members like "heroes". "While Robin Hood robbed from the rich to give to the poor, it was important to realise that what Robin Hood did was wrong because stealing was wrong," he said. Though he did not admit his soldiers were committing human rights abuses in Aceh, he said there had been some instances of "indiscipline".

It was impossible for "100 per cent of all soldiers to respect human rights. I always train soldiers to be professional." Any acts of "indiscipline by soldiers could be blamed on their poor wages and conditions, he said. Some received less than $A1 a day for food.

The military had no option but to continue to supplement its budget through its business interests, General Endriartono said, but he refused to make public audited statements of these activities. The Government recently approved his request for these business operations to continue.

General Endriartono was chosen for the top military job three months ago by President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Aceh is the main issue facing his army.

Last week the Indonesian Government issued GAM with a deadline of December 7 to accept an offer of special autonomy. However, GAM has pledged to continue its fight to become an independent state like East Timor. General Endriartono opposes moves for a referendum on independence to be held in Aceh. East Timor was a mistake, he says.