Opposition mounts over state security bill<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Independent Commission for Missing Persons
\nand Victims of Violence (Kontras) joined other observers on
\nThursday in denouncing the newly submitted bill on state
\nsecurity, which it said would kill democracy in the country.<\/p>\n
\"This bill will kill democracy and return the country to the
\nrule of an authoritarian power... The bill is even worse than
\nthe subversion law which was revoked by the People's Consultative
\nAssembly last year,\" said Tommy Aryanto, coordinator of Kontras'
\nmonitoring department in a press conference here.<\/p>\n
He said Kontras has studied the bill and found numerous
\n\"irrationalities\" that ran counter to democratization.<\/p>\n
Tommy said the bill's submission was a setback for Indonesia's
\nfledgling democracy.<\/p>\n
\"We have to reject the bill (the way we rejected) the
\nsubversion law because it was against the spirit of the reform
\nmovement.\"<\/p>\n
The bill seeks to position people as enemies of the state, and
\nto put the interests of the state above everything else, he said.
\nIn addition, it negated the sovereignty of the people over their
\nterritory and the government.<\/p>\n
The bill implies that public officials and the military are
\nallowed to exercise violence, such as the bloody riots in May
\nlast year, clashes in East Timor and ongoing tension in Aceh, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Kontras, the bill assumes that people are the
\nmain source of threat to the state's security, and disregard
\npotential threats from the military or enemies outside of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Observers grouped in Indonesian Parliament Watch (Parwi) on
\nWednesday criticized the bill as repressive and called on the
\nHouse of Representatives to drop it.<\/p>\n
Ori Rachman of Kontras' legal division, who also spoke at the
\npress conference, said the bill could be abused and manipulated
\nby the next government to further its own interests.<\/p>\n
He said the bill could be also seen as the present
\ngovernment's excessive suspicion of people in certain regions
\nsuch as Aceh, Irian Jaya and Riau, which have all clamored for
\nseparation from the country.<\/p>\n
\"This is one strange document as it positions the people as a
\nthreat to the state,\" he said. He insisted that demonstrations by
\nworkers, farmers and other justice seekers could not be
\nconsidered a threat.<\/p>\n
He said Kontras was committed to campaigning to win public
\nsupport to reject the bill.<\/p>\n
The bill was actually conceived during the last years of
\nSoeharto's New Order regime, but was abandoned until Monday, when
\nthe Ministry of Defense and Security submitted the document to
\nthe House for deliberation. The bill is meant as a replacement
\nfor the 1959 Law No. 23 on the State of Emergency. It is now
\nbeing studied by the four House factions before deliberations
\ncommence.<\/p>\n
The military faction at the House plans to see the bill
\nratified by the end of August.<\/p>\n
Generals<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the bill drew a mixed reaction from former
\ngenerals.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. (ret) Hasnan Habib, former chief of the military's
\nsociopolitical affairs, hailed the bill, saying that it was
\nsimilar to those in other developed countries.<\/p>\n
\"Everywhere in the world, governments and armed forces have
\nfull authority to take action in any emergencies, including
\nrebellions, chaos and disasters, and people in such situations
\nwill lose their individual rights,\" he told The Jakarta Post here
\non Thursday.<\/p>\n
He said the United States, which is known for its liberal
\ndemocracy, still has such a law to maintain state security.<\/p>\n
\"For example, when the United States' military launched an
\noperation to crush a rebellion in an island near Cuba several
\nyears ago, islanders lost their rights and the press was gagged
\nand martial law was declared.\"<\/p>\n
Former National Police chief Gen. (ret) Awaloeddin Djamin
\nreminded the House to be extra cautious in its deliberation.<\/p>\n
\"The bill should be made better than the 1959 law on state of
\nemergency and the revoked subversion law,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, he criticized the bill for seeking to grant the
\npresident and the military commander the authority to declare war
\nand state of emergency without having to consult the legislature.<\/p>\n
He said that in handling unrest, separatism, natural disasters
\nand rebellions, the government should consult the legislative
\nbody. The state of emergency should also be introduced in stages,
\nfrom civilian emergency, military emergency to war emergency.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal Idris, former chief of the Army's
\nStrategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), said the current House,
\nwhich was considered by many to be illegitimate, should not
\ndeliberate the bill. It should leave it for the next House and
\ngovernment to discuss, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Everyone knows that the current House is a product of an
\nunfair general election and hence is illegitimate. Therefore, the
\nbill should be submitted to the new House that will be officiated
\nnext month,\" he said. (05\/rms)<\/p>",
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