Police bill goes ahead despite criticism<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives has completed its
\ndeliberation of a controversial police bill and plans to endorse
\nit early next month despite public criticism over some of its
\narticles.<\/p>\n
Golkar legislator Andi Mattalata defended the House's work and
\nsaid yesterday that over the course of deliberation between June
\nand July, the bill improved significantly from the original
\ndocument.<\/p>\n
In addition, the House accommodated "public aspirations" in
\nthe bill, Mattalata said.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after receiving a delegation of three
\nlawyer associations a legal aid foundation who protested the bill
\nyesterday, Mattalata said the bill would also be better than the
\nNo. 13\/1965 Police Law it sought to amend.<\/p>\n
Mattalata, who headed the House's deliberation team, said it
\nwas impossible for the House to accommodate the lawyers' call
\nyesterday to postpone the discussion on the bill.<\/p>\n
The associations included the Indonesian Bar Association,
\nIndonesian Advocates Association, Association of Indonesian
\nLawyers, and the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute
\n(YLBHI).<\/p>\n
"If postponed, then it will still be the 1965 law which
\nremains in effect. It has long been cited as obsolete compared to
\nour Criminal Code Procedures which many have dubbed as the
\nnation's monumental legal masterpiece," Mattalata said.<\/p>\n
The three lawyer associations and YLBHI said the police bill
\nshould not be endorsed because it failed to encompass many
\n"fundamental and strategic" problems.<\/p>\n
They cited the poorly defined boundaries for what constitutes
\npolice authority and their function "as law enforcers, and as
\nservants and protectors of the public".<\/p>\n
Bambang Widjojanto of YLBHI told reporters after meeting with
\nMattalata that the bill, if passed, would give police excessive
\nauthority to use violence in the absence of a clear, controlling
\nbody.<\/p>\n
"If the state is given such power, it would be prone to human
\nrights violations," Bambang said.<\/p>\n
Mattalata, however, argued that if the public found that
\npolice were not using their power correctly, they could sue the
\npolice through a pretrial court hearing allowed by the Criminal
\nCode Procedures.<\/p>\n
The public would also be able to lodge complaints with the
\nPolice Council of Ethics, which is to be established following
\nthe endorsement of the bill, or even press charges against the
\npolice using an upcoming law on soldiers' discipline.<\/p>\n
The latter law, according to Mattalata, will be passed along
\nwith the police bill, the bill on the military tribunal court,
\nand the bill on mass mobilization.<\/p>\n
Separately, Aisyah Aminy of the United Development Party, who
\nthe lawyer associations and YLBHI also met, said it was
\nimpossible for the House to postpone the police bill.<\/p>\n
"Besides, all input (by the lawyer associations and YLHBI) has
\nbeen discussed during the deliberation of the bill," she said.
\n(aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-bill-goes-ahead-despite-criticism-1447893297",
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