Akbar comes under fire from activists over security bill

JAKARTA (JP): Human rights activists regretted on Wednesday the House of Representatives speaker Akbar Tandjung's call for President Abdurrahman Wahid to ratify the controversial state security bill.

Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) Chairman Hendardi and the Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) advisory board member Munir separately told The Jakarta Post that the House should in fact review the bill and revoke its endorsement.

"The bill and the old Emergency Law should be revoked. Both are like poison to the people," Hendardi said.

He said the bill, which has yet been ratified by the President, and the 1959 State of Emergency Law which it is designed to replace were repressive to the public.

He said such an emergency law should only be required for situations of war.

Hendardi suspected that Akbar's call was aimed at the prospect of facing massive demonstrations before the House in conjunction with the April 1 rise in fuel and electricity prices.

Munir supported Hendardi's view, saying both the bill and the 1959 law had the same principle in repressing public demonstrations.

"The House should not give more strength and legitimacy to the state to repress the demand of the people. It's against democracy." Munir said.

The short history of the bill has been a bloody affair.

Mass protests against it brought thousands of students onto the streets and resulted in a clash which claimed four lives.

The House, however, endorsed the bill on Sept. 24 last year.

The government under former president B.J. Habibie then postponed ratifying the bill amid extreme public pressure.

Separately, Akbar Tandjung reiterated on Wednesday his call for the President to ratify the bill, saying that it was needed to give a legal basis to required security action.

He contended that bill was more democratic and less repressive compared to the 1959 law.

He was also confident that the public would accept it now as the political climate was completely different to that of last year.

Chairman of the Indonesian Unity and Nationality faction (FKKI) Sutradara Gintings supported Akbar's view, saying the law was needed to anticipate possible social clashes.

"The bill needs to be ratified first. In the future we can make revisions to the bill," Sutradara said.

He pointed out that past rejection was due to its association with Habibie, whose political legitimacy was doubted by many. (jun)