Decree on terrorism discussed<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said
\non Tuesday that the government had yet to discuss the possibility
\nof issuing a presidential decree on terrorism in response to the
\nUN Security Council's resolution on the freezing of assets
\nbelonging to terrorist groups.<\/p>\n
\"The government has yet to decide on the issuance of a
\npresidential decree,\" Yusril told reporters, after attending a
\nmeeting at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political
\nand Security Affairs.<\/p>\n
He said that the Attorney General's Office had formally
\nrequested Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, to freeze 28
\nbank accounts belonging to companies suspected of having links
\nwith Osama bin Laden, who has been accused by the United States
\nof being behind the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
\nLaw No. 10\/1998 on banking prohibits a governor, or any director
\nof BI, from freezing any account unless the state prosecutor's
\noffice orders the bank to do so.<\/p>\n
\"But, there has yet to be any freezing of bank accounts as
\ngovernment investigators have found that there are no such
\ncompanies in the country,\" he said during a joint media
\nconference with Attorney General M.A. Rachman.<\/p>\n
It had earlier been reported that the government was set to
\nissue a presidential decree on terrorism to enable it to access
\nthe bank accounts of individuals or groups believed to have links
\nwith international terrorists.<\/p>\n
Any decision to issue a decree would be designed to circumvent
\nthe existing legal provisions forbidding any party, including the
\ngovernment, from freezing any assets without official
\nnotification from prosecutors, the police or the courts.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, the UN Security
\nCouncil issued a resolution urging member countries to freeze
\nbank accounts and assets of suspected terrorist groups.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government also distributed a list of 26 terrorist-
\nrelated organizations to all allied countries, including
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Yusril said the government had explained to the UN Security
\nCouncil that any action involving the freezing of assets or
\naccounts had to be based on prima facie evidence of involvement
\nor links with terrorist organizations.<\/p>\n
\"Freezing one's account(s) is only possible if there are
\nindications of the commission of a criminal offense,\" he said
\nquoting the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n
The minister also said, however, that the government would
\nsoon publish a draft bill on terrorism and ratify three
\nresolutions of the UN Security Council on bombings, terrorist
\ngroups and transnational organized crimes.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that with the passing of the law on terrorism and the
\nratification of the three UN resolutions, the country will have a
\nlegal umbrella for taking action against terrorists and
\ncooperating with other countries in the fight against them,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda upon
\narriving back from Brunei Darussalam said that the government was
\nstill investigating the accounts of 28 organizations, allegedly
\nconnected with terrorist groups.<\/p>\n
He cited that it is the obligation of all member countries of
\nthe United Nations to conduct the investigation in compliance
\nwith the UN Security Council resolution on fighting terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"When we find the accounts we will freeze them, and then we
\nwill find the owners of the accounts should they be present here
\nin the country,\" Hassan said.<\/p>\n
Hassan had just returned from the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) summit which he attended as a member of
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri's entourage.<\/p>\n
During the summit, ASEAN countries underscored their intention
\nof fighting against terrorism, and also voiced concerns about the
\nAfghanistan people who are suffering due to the U.S. military
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
He said that there was no pressure on the government on the
\nissue, adding that all countries were conducting the same
\ninvestigations and would report their findings to the UN security
\ncouncil on Dec. 28.<\/p>\n
\"The government is also strengthening the legal
\ninfrastructure. We will ratify international conventions on
\nterrorism and prepare an antiterrorist bill,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/decree-on-terrorism-discussed-1447893297",
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