The dispute between the rival camps of presidential candidates Jusuf Kalla and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over who brought peace to Aceh continued on Sunday, with claims that Kalla was being "unethical" for belittling the incumbent president's role.

Bara Hasibuan, a member of the campaign team of Yudhoyono and his running mate, Boediono, said that Kalla, who is the current vice president, had no right to attack Yudhoyono while he was serving as Yudhoyono's deputy.

"Kalla might have played a big role during the negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement [GAM], but the final decision was made by Yudhoyono, as the president," Bara said.

He rejected claims that Yudhoyono – who has a reputation for being thoughtful and slow in reaching decisions, as opposed to the more direct Kalla – was overwhelmingly silent during the negotiations of the peace agreement, saying that each and every article had been checked and approved by Yudhoyono.

While campaigning in Aceh on Saturday, Kalla said that the peace agreement with GAM became reality because of his hard work.

Besides digging into his own pocket to cover expenses during the negotiations, Kalla said he shouldered all the risks in achieving peace in the region and post-tsunami reconstruction, including signing the peace agreement, which he claimed Yudhoyono refused to sign.

"You can check. There's no other signature but mine on the Helsinki agreement," Antara news agency quoted Kalla as saying. "I once requested a signature for the establishment of local political parties, but the president opposed it. It was I who finally signed and took all the risks..."

The right to form local political parties was part of the memorandum of understanding that was signed by the government and GAM in Helsinki, Finland, in August 2005.

In his statement, Kalla also said that he never demanded an award for all the hard work he did in building peace in Aceh, but that "someone else" expected to get a Nobel Peace Prize from it. Yudhoyono was mentioned as a possible candidate for the award in 2006.

Hatta Rajasa, the head of Yudhoyono's campaign team, said the Helsinki agreement was the result of a long process that involved many different people and bodies under Yudhoyono's administration. He said the agreement, which led to the Law on Governance in Aceh, was initiated by the government and endorsed by the House of Representatives.

Hatta said the Aceh peace agreement was achieved by teamwork, and not by one individual. He also denied Kalla's claim that Yudhoyono had ever opposed the establishment of local parties in Aceh.

Hatta said that the administration of Yudhoyono valued and promoted teamwork, so it was not unusual for the president to send aides to act on his behalf.

Ali Muchtar Ngabalin, a campaign team member for Kalla and his running mate, Wiranto, said that Kalla's statements on the Aceh peace process were all fact, and that Yudhoyono's camp had no right to object. He said that the people of Aceh should deserved a detailed explanation of how the peace agreement was reached.

Ali said that Kalla wanted to discuss the path to the peace agreement so that residents understood the cost of achieving peace in the province after nearly three decades of war.

"There's nothing wrong in letting people know who worked in the nation's interest," Ali said. "There was no intention to hurt the current administration."