Coalition of NGOs opposes secrets bill<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched a
\ncampaign on Friday opposing a proposed official secrets bill,
\nwhich they said could hamper the effort to establish transparent
\nand accountable government if it were enacted into law.<\/p>\n
They also urged the House of Representatives to prioritize the
\ndeliberation of a freedom of information bill this year rather
\nthan the official secrets bill.<\/p>\n
\"Essentially, we don't need an official secrets bill as many
\nprovisions on official secrets have actually been incorporated
\ninto the freedom of information bill,\" said Agus Sudibyo from the
\nInstitute for the Study of Free Flows of Information (ISAI)
\nduring a press conference held at the House.<\/p>\n
He questioned why the government and lawmakers preferred to
\nprioritize the official secrets bill rather than the freedom of
\ninformation bill, which was drafted three years ago.<\/p>\n
Fellow activist Agus Pambagio from the Children of the Nation
\nVision (VAB) group emphasized that the immediate deliberation of
\nthe freedom of information bill was important for ensuring
\ntransparency in the management of donations for disaster-hit
\nareas around the country.<\/p>\n
He said that the activists, grouped in the Freedom of
\nInformation Coalition, planned to meet legislators from the
\nHouse's information and intelligence commission.<\/p>\n
In addition, Agus Sudibyo added that the substance of the
\nofficial secrets bill ran contrary to that of the freedom of
\ninformation bill.<\/p>\n
The official secrets bill adopts the principle of limited
\naccess to information, while the freedom of information bill
\nadheres to the principle of maximum access to information.<\/p>\n
\"The principle of limited access means that the state can
\nrestrict public access to information by saying that the
\ninformation is secret,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Agus, the official secrets bill also contained
\narticles that could pose a serious threat to press freedom.<\/p>\n
He expressed fears that the plan to deliberate the official
\nsecrets bill was part of a government plan to stifle the flow of
\ninformation, given that the government was simultaneously
\nrevision the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n
The draft revision of the Criminal Code contains articles that
\ncould also adversely affect press freedom.<\/p>\n
Separately, legislator Mutammimul Ula, a member of the House's
\nlegislation committee, said that the House has recently included
\nthe official secrets bill on its priority list this year based on
\nthe readiness of both the government and lawmakers to deliberate
\nthe bill.<\/p>\n
The committee had targeted the passage of 55 bills in 11
\nmonths as part of the National Legislation Program.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' director general for
\nlegislation, Abdulgani Abdullah, has stated that the revised
\nCriminal Code was among the 55 bills.<\/p>\n
But given the fact that the revised Criminal Code contains
\nmore than 700 articles, the deliberation process could take more
\nthan three years.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/coalition-of-ngos-opposes-secrets-bill-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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