ABRI defends legislation on subversion<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The newly-installed assistant to the Armed
\nForces Chief of socio-political affairs, Brig. Gen. Suwarno
\nAdiwijoyo, defended the controversial anti-subversive law
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Amidst the efforts of some in society to have the No. 11, 1963
\nlaw revoked for trampling on people's basic rights, Suwarno said
\nthat the law is still necessary because the existing Criminal
\nCode does not cover sanctions for subversive activities.<\/p>\n
He also rejected the view that the law restricts the public's
\nfreedom. \"The anti-subversive law remains valid until a new law
\ndealing with subversion is established,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that revoking a law without replacing it would
\ncreate holes in the legal system, a condition which may endanger
\nthe country's security and survival.<\/p>\n
The drive to have the anti-subversive law revoked is being
\nspearheaded by the National Commission on Human Rights. It called
\nlate last year for a review on laws which were produced decades
\nago, and are no longer relevant.<\/p>\n
The commission has also embarked on the legal review mission
\nof its own. It is examining the anti-subversive law first, which
\nit considers contradictory to a democratic legal system and
\nignores the people's aspirations.<\/p>\n
The commission's deputy chairman, Marzuki Darusman, said there
\nare articles in the law which violate people's basic rights. He
\nargued that the Criminal Code, known by its local acronym of
\nKUHP, already has adequate provisions to protect the people and
\nthe nation against subversion.<\/p>\n
Suwarno yesterday reminded the public to be critical of the
\npush to have the law revoked, and called on the advocates for
\nlegal review to present more solid reasons, rather than be
\nmotivated merely by an antipathy to this law.<\/p>\n
\"People have to think clearly and consider the reasons for the
\nexistence of the anti-subversive law,\" he was quoted by the
\nAntara news agency as saying. \"It was established to protect the
\nnation's survival\".<\/p>\n
Citing the use of the 1963 law to prevent any efforts to
\ncreate instability or insurgence, Suwarno said that similar laws
\nexist in many other countries.<\/p>\n
He named Malaysia as an example.<\/p>\n
Suwarno also named a number of subversive cases which have
\npopped up in Indonesia over the past decades, such as the Sept.
\n1965 coup attempt by the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI), 31 years ago.<\/p>\n
He also identified the January 1974 student demonstrations,
\nwhich were accompanied by rioting which inflicted massive damage
\non property, as well as the 1989 rebellion by a separatist Moslem
\ngroup led by a man called Warsidi in Lampung.<\/p>\n
Suwarno said that the Ministry of Defense is currently working
\non its own draft to replace the anti-subversive law.<\/p>\n
\"The new document will still contain articles to prevent
\nsubversive activities, only in greater detail, to facilitate
\nimplementation, \" he said.<\/p>\n
A support for the legal review drive came yesterday from legal
\nexpert Andi Hamzah, formerly head of the Research and Development
\nDivision of the Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
\"We do not need the anti-subversive law because all sanctions
\nagainst subversion are already included in Chapter I of the
\nCriminal Code,\" he told The Jakarta Post over the phone last
\nnight.<\/p>\n
The law is no longer relevant to present conditions, he said.
\n\"It was created for when the country faces an emergency, like it
\ndid during the revolution,\" he said. \"We are not in the middle of
\na revolution, are we?\" he asked. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abri-defends-legislation-on-subversion-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}