Megawati orders ministers to improve antiterrorism bill<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri instructed her ministers on
\nThursday to improve the draft of a bill on antiterrorism before
\nsubmitting it to the House of Representatives (DPR) for
\ndeliberation.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists after attending a Cabinet meeting here
\non Thursday, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
\nAffairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the President wanted the
\nbill to uphold the government's stance on fighting terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"The President wants the bill to uphold the basic principles
\non how Indonesia views terrorism and to impose measures to deal
\nwith the problem,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The President has ordered (the related ministers) to discuss
\nthe bill immediately and submit it to the House as soon as
\npossible,\" Susilo said.<\/p>\n
The minister did not pinpoint what part of the bill had to be
\nimproved but analysts have criticized the bill for its vague
\ndefinition of terrorism and the exclusion of politically
\nmotivated terrorist acts.<\/p>\n
The bill, which was drafted by Minister of Justice and Human
\nRights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has been submitted to Susilo and
\ndiscussed at Cabinet meetings. The House has also given the green
\nlight for the government to submit the bill for deliberations.<\/p>\n
Terrorism, according to the government, is an indiscriminate
\nact of violence committed against the public. The government is
\nto ensure that the bill does not categorize certain races,
\nreligions or ethnicities as terrorist groups.<\/p>\n
The police will be the leading agency in dealing with domestic
\nterrorism, while the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral
\ncooperation should fight international terrorist groups.<\/p>\n
Susilo said the President demanded that those stances need to
\nbe clearly reflected in the bill, and it should be submitted to
\nthe House as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
In a clear attempt to respond to international pressure on
\nJakarta's measures to curb terrorism in the country, the
\ngovernment has sped up the bill's preparation.<\/p>\n
Susilo said earlier that the government needed legal grounds
\nto launch a major crackdown on alleged terrorist groups operating
\nin the country.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has been
\nlabeled a safe haven for terrorists as it is considered to have
\nfailed in dealing with domestic Muslim extremist groups.<\/p>\n
The government discussed the 46 articles in the bill with the
\nHouse earlier this week and received a positive response from the
\nlegislators.<\/p>\n
Analysts have said they noticed various flaws in the bill,
\nincluding vague measures for the questioning of suspected
\nterrorists and the bill's unclear definition of terrorism.<\/p>\n
Some have expressed fear that the ambiguous points would
\ncreate loopholes for security officers to go beyond their
\nauthority in processing terrorism cases or be used by the
\ngovernment to silence political opposition, especially from
\nMuslim groups.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Soetarto said
\nthat the bill would not be another weapon for the government to
\nuse.<\/p>\n
\"It was drafted by Yusril, who also heads a Muslim-based
\nparty, so it would not violate the rights of any Muslim groups,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-orders-ministers-to-improve-antiterrorism-bill-1447893297",
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