Activists want state security bill dropped<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Protesters staged demonstrations in Jakarta,
\nSemarang and Denpasar, Bali, on Monday to demand that outgoing
\nlegislators not endorse the state security bill currently under
\ndeliberation in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Some 200 activists from the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) staged
\na protest in front of the House\/People's Consultative Assembly
\nhere on Monday morning. The activists claimed the military-
\nsponsored bill would give the military wide-ranging authority to
\nquell opposition and curb the freedom of the press.<\/p>\n
Legislators are expected to endorse the bill before Sept. 24,
\nwhen they end their term.<\/p>\n
The activists from the UPC also urged the legislators to annul
\nLaw No. 23 on State Emergency, which they said gave the military
\ntoo great an authority.<\/p>\n
After staging a half-hour free speech forum in front of the
\nHouse, several representatives, including Wardah Hafidz, met with
\nmembers of the House's special committee deliberating the bill to
\nvoice their objections.<\/p>\n
As the meeting was going on, scores of security personnel
\nattempted to disperse the protesters. The demonstrators,
\nincluding elderly women and teenagers, peacefully allowed the
\nsecurity personnel to escort them to 15 minibuses, which drove
\nthem from the site at 12:40 p.m.<\/p>\n
Wardah said after the meeting that poor people had an interest
\nin seeing the bill defeated.<\/p>\n
\"Poor people have always become the victims of the military's
\nviolent actions,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The chief of the city police's On-Alert unit, Col. Arthur
\nDamanik, said the police failed to identify and prevent the
\nprotesters from reaching the House.<\/p>\n
\"We had trouble identifying protesters because they dressed
\nlike normal people. Suddenly their minibuses exited the toll
\nroad,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The UPC activists employed different tactics from student
\nprotesters, who have been mostly unable to reach the House in a
\nrecent series of protests. Whereas the UPC activists employed
\npeaceful methods, the students have resorted to force in their
\nefforts to break through a cordon of security personnel at the
\nSenayan flyover, some 300 meters from the House.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some 1,000 students from the Semarang People's
\nStruggle and the Semarang Committee for Democracy staged a
\nprotest in Semarang on Monday to air their opposition to the
\nstate security bill.<\/p>\n
About 100 of the protesters were allowed to meet with members
\nof the Central Java Legislative Council and discuss the bill,
\nwhile dozens of unarmed riot police officers stood outside the
\ncouncil building.<\/p>\n
\"Learning from past experience and history, the Indonesian
\nMilitary is outstanding in creating certain situations and
\nconditions which would lead to its political advantage,\" the
\nprotesters said.<\/p>\n
\"The military will still have the power to consolidate its
\nsupremacy. Therefore, the only way to prevent the supremacy of
\nthe military is by completely rejecting the bill.\"<\/p>\n
In Denpasar, dozens of students from Udayana University and
\nWarmadewa University here staged protests in two separate
\nlocations on Monday, demanding legislators scrap the state
\nsecurity bill.<\/p>\n
Students from Udayana protested on their campus while the
\nstudents from Warmadewa, the largest private university in the
\nprovince, marched to the office of the Bali Legislative Council
\nand delivered speeches while burning tires.<\/p>\n
\"Many political elites in this county are attempting to derail
\nthe reform movement. This bill is a clear example of their
\nefforts to preserve military power,\" the protesters said.<\/p>\n
\"We suspect the government and the military will use this bill
\nto maintain their absolute power,\" the group said.<\/p>\n
Pressure has risen for legislators to kill the bill. Students
\nand activists have warned that if the bill is endorsed, the
\nmilitary will be given an alibi for all of its past, present and
\nfuture violations, including atrocities in Aceh, Irian Jaya and
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
The bill gives the president the authority to declare a state
\nof emergency in troubled territories. The president also is
\nallowed to delegate his or her authority to the military, which
\nis given free rein to put down perceived threats to state
\nsecurity.<\/p>\n
The bill, if enacted, would allow the military to carry out
\ninvestigations and raids, take over mail service and
\ntelecommunications and electronic facilities. An emergency
\nsituation would also allow a ban or limitation on demonstrations
\nand print and electronic media.<\/p>\n
In the event of a state of emergency, the bill says the
\nmilitary chief would be permitted to resort to any measure to
\nrestore order, even if those measures violated existing laws.<\/p>\n
The military would also have the authority to prevent
\nindividuals from entering or leaving the country, isolate
\n\"troubled individuals and areas\" and set curfews. (asa\/har\/50\/edt)<\/p>",
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