NGOs reject bill on state secrecy<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A number of non-governmental organizations
\n(NGOs) grouped under the Coalition for Freedom to Information
\nsaid on Friday that they were against the bill on state secrecy
\ncurrently being deliberated at the House of Representatives
\n(DPR).<\/p>\n
"If the bill is passed into law, it will be a disaster (for
\nfreedom to information). 'State secrecy' has a very broad meaning
\nand can be dragged into many areas," said Mas Achmad Santosa of
\nthe Coalition for Freedom to Information.<\/p>\n
He reiterated that the bill was not in line with efforts to
\ncreate a transparent government as it would not only apply to a
\nlimited number of high ranking officials but also those of the
\nlower echelons.<\/p>\n
Citing Article 12 Paragraph 2 of the bill, Santosa said even
\ngovernment officials of the first echelon could decide if a state
\ndocument was a secret.<\/p>\n
Santosa said the bill also did not rule how to solve conflicts
\nif there were different interpretations of ambiguous phrases in
\nthe articles of the bill.<\/p>\n
"I am worried that officials can arbitrarily decide that a
\ncertain matter is a secret. This is against the efforts to combat
\ncorruption, collusion and nepotistic practices (KKN)," Santosa
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
He classified state secrecy into two -- the good and the bad.
\nHe said "good" secrecy covers national defense, security and
\nother matters that had to be protected, while "bad" secrecy was
\non matters that had nothing to do with the nation's security.<\/p>\n
State secrecy, Santosa added, could also be categorized into
\nnational security secrecy, political secrecy and bureaucratic
\nsecrecy. He said national security secrecy covered all matters
\nlinked to national security.<\/p>\n
"Only the good secrecy and national security secrecy deserve
\nto be protected," said Santosa.<\/p>\n
Deputy head of the State Code Institute Wihardijono said
\nearlier that a law on state secrecy was needed to guide the
\ninstitute in its tasks.<\/p>\n
He also said the law was particularly important to rule on
\n"gray areas" between what was believed to be a state secret and
\nwhat was not.<\/p>\n
"We need a law on state secrecy to protect the nation's
\ninterests," he said, adding that he also supported the effort of
\nthe Coalition for Freedom to Information to introduce a bill on
\nthe freedom to obtain public information.<\/p>\n
The organizations that supported the coalition are the
\nIndependent Journalist Association, the Antidiscrimination
\nMovement, the Indonesian Conference in Religion and Peace, the
\nIndonesian Corruption Watch, the Indonesian Center for
\nEnvironmental Law, the Information Flow Studies Institute and the
\nIndonesian Media Law and Policy Center.<\/p>\n
Santosa stressed that if the bill on state secrecy was passed
\ninto law, it would hamper public access to information.<\/p>\n
"We know that public access to information is one of the
\nrequirements to help create an open government. An open
\ngovernment is a government whose policies are made through
\ntransparency, openness and participation," he added.<\/p>\n
He said an open government ought to guarantee at least five
\npublic rights, which consisted of the right to monitor public
\nofficials (right to observe), the right to information, the right
\nto participate in creating public policy, the right to reject
\npolicies and freedom of the press.<\/p>\n
The effort to prevent KKN by creating an open government is
\nmore strategic than repressive efforts of punishing corruptors,
\nSantosa added. (02)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ngos-reject-bill-on-state-secrecy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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