TNI concedes insufficient promotion of security bill<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) and Ministry of
\nDefense and Security have said they will leave a decision whether
\nto approve the controversial state security bill to the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Speaking after addressing a seminar on the new nationalism
\nhere on Wednesday, spokesman for the ministry\/TNI Maj. Gen.
\nSudrajat said the government and TNI had not pressed the House to
\napprove the bill as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
\"Perhaps people need more time to understand the appropriate
\nnature of the bill. I acknowledge that we have not adequately
\npromoted the bill to the whole public,\" Sudrajat said.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, it's all up to the wisdom of the House. The bill
\nitself has seen many changes, compared to the original draft.\"<\/p>\n
The House is expected on Thursday to approve the bill, which
\nprovides TNI with wide-ranging powers, including the right to
\ntemporarily take over the duties of a civilian government in a
\nstate of emergency.<\/p>\n
Sudrajat said he welcomed the submissions made over the bill,
\nbut deplored the increasing number of rallies and protests
\nagainst the bill, saying such actions had been blown out of
\nproportion.<\/p>\n
\"Responses to the bill should be conducted in an intellectual
\nmanner, not through street rallies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that from his own observations many protesters were
\nnot familiar with the bill's contents.<\/p>\n
Separately in Yogyakarta, political observer Cornelius Lay of
\nGadjah Mada University said the public had the right to disobey
\nthe bill, even if it was approved by the House.<\/p>\n
\"People can exercise civil disobedience in response to the law
\nbecause opposition to the bill by various elements in the society
\nhas been left unheeded by the government and even the House,\"
\nCornelius said.<\/p>\n
He emphasized, however, that resistance to the bill should not
\nlead to violent confrontations.<\/p>\n
He said people had exercised their right to disobey a law when
\nthe House approved the Traffic Law in 1991. Following nationwide
\nprotests, the government delayed enforcement of the law for one
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Press threat<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, chairman of the Legal Aid Institute Foundation
\nBambang Widjojanto also warned of massive public disobedience to
\nthe state security law, not only from students, but also from
\nbusiness executives.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a seminar, Bambang also said the press faced
\nserious threats if the bill was passed by the House.<\/p>\n
He said that although there were no articles in the bill which
\nspecifically targeted the press, the media's independence could
\nbe severely curtailed because of the authority given to the
\nmilitary to take over all mail and telecommunications facilities.<\/p>\n
\"The bill's article will allow security authorities to control
\nthe press,\" Bambang said.<\/p>\n
At another seminar held by the Institute for Policy Research
\nand Advocacy, political expert Syamsuddin Haris suggested that
\nthe press boycott the House's approval of the bill.<\/p>\n
\"There's nothing we can do now but to pray that the House
\ndelays approving the bill, or returns it to the government,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said the bill would justify the misuse of sociopolitical
\nroles long-held by the military.<\/p>\n
But media observer Atmakusumah Astraatmadja disputed the press
\nboycott idea, saying such a move would limit dissemination of
\nvital public information.<\/p>\n
The director of the Soetomo Press Institute said it would be
\nbetter for the public to consider the bill positively, rather
\nthan to react too strongly.<\/p>\n
\"We have to know whether we really need the bill or whether it
\nis common in other countries to enact such a state security law,\"
\nAtmakusumah said.<\/p>\n
He said the bill did not stipulate any press ban, although he
\nacknowledged that it could pose obstacles to the media.<\/p>\n
Another speaker at the seminar, Johnson Panjaitan from the
\nIndonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, acknowledged
\nthat while many countries had adopted a state security law, due
\nto TNI's role in sociopolitical affairs, the case for Indonesia
\nwas a different story.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, it's normal for a country to adopt the law, for
\nexample (as in) Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. People in
\nthese countries can accept the law only because their military
\nforces are not involved in political practices,\" he said.
\n(05\/44\/emf\/nur)<\/p>",
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