Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Usually bustling streets in towns along the eastern seaboard of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam were brought to a standstill Tuesday, with transportation workers taking part in a general strike called to protest the endorsement of the Aceh governance law.

Dozens of NGOs in Aceh, including the Center of Information for Aceh Referendum (SIRA), Aceh Anticorruption Movement (Gerak), Linkpeace and Acehnese Youth Alliance, urged the public to oppose the law. They argued it watered down the Helsinki peace accord that was signed by the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement last August.

The groups contend the law fails to provide the promised autonomy for the resource-rich province and allows interference from the central government.

They distributed fliers comparing the content of the law with the Helsinki agreement.

Among the contentious contents of the law are Article 8 on local councils, Article 11 on the respective authority of the central and local governments, Article 193 on the role of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Article 215 on the ad-hoc rights tribunal.

"We urge the government and the House to be consistent with the agreement enshrined in the Helsinki peace pact," the coordinator of the general strike, Dawan Gayo, said.

Locals in Julok, East Aceh, stopped public transportation vehicles plying the Medan-Banda Aceh route to force them to honor the strike. "I don't know why we have to take part in the strike, but I am concerned about my personal safety if I don't do it," driver Muhammad said.

In the province's capital of Banda Aceh, transportation services were unaffected. At Setui bus terminal, all public transportation vehicles, including inter-city buses, kept to their routes.

Rini, a resident of Darul Imarah, Banda Aceh, was quoted by detik.com news portal as saying that the NGOs that staged the protest were only representing their own interests.

"We just want peace...We are no longer afraid. What those people say does not mean anything to us. They just fight for their own interests."

Human rights watchdog Aceh Working Group (AWG) said the law failed to meet the demands of Acehnese whose basic rights had been trampled on for decades. AWG coordinator Rusdi Marpaung said the law only benefited violators of human rights and those who reaped financial gains from the long-standing conflict.

"As a result, implementation of this law will also be steered by those two parties," he told reporters here.