Bills pave legal way for war on terrorism

Bills pave legal way for war on terrorism

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has submitted two antiterror bills to the House of
Representatives, but their substance is basically the same as
that of the two antiterrorism government regulations in lieu of
laws that have drawn an outcry from some quarters over possible
human rights' violations.

The two draft laws are the antiterrorism bill and the bill on
the retrospective application of the antiterrorism bill to the
Oct. 12 Bali bombing.

As expected, the antiterrorism bill still retains the
controversial article contained in Government Regulation in Lieu
of Law No. 1/2002 on terrorism that empowers investigators to
arrest suspected terrorists based on intelligence reports.

The only revision to this article is that the bill requires
such information to be authenticated by the head of the State
Intelligence Agency (BIN).

The bill also recognizes other forms of evidence as being
admissible, such as data stored or transferred electronically as
well as electronic records. These types of evidence are not yet
recognized by the Criminal Code.

Based on prima facie evidence, suspected terrorists can be
arrested for up to seven days and detained for a period of up to
six months for questioning and prosecution.

Human rights activists have expressed their rejection of the
antiterrorism bill, which they claim gives carte blanche to the
security forces to commit human rights violations.

In its elucidation, however, the bill stipulates that its
provisions will not be applicable to crimes involving questions
of freedom of speech, including strikes and demonstrations.

However, the bill does not make any reference to separatism,
opening the possibility for the government to charge members of
separatist groups such as the Free Aceh Movement and the Free
Papua Movement using this bill.

Legislator M. Yahya Zaini from the Golkar Party acknowledged
that the antiterrorism bill still contained many contentious
articles and that, therefore, legislators would have to work
extra hard to scrutinize them before endorsing the bill.

Golkar is the second largest party in the House after the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Sukowaluyo Mintohardjo from the PDI Perjuangan's research and
development center said that his party would move to expedite the
deliberation of the two bills so that they could be passed into
law and replace the two government regulations in lieu of laws.

"Once the bills are passed into law, they will provide a legal
umbrella for the government to combat terrorism," said
Sukowaluyo.

The following are the crucial points of the antiterrorism
bill:

* The bill defines terrorism as any violent act that could
create terror or insecurity among the public, infringe the
public's freedom, cause the death of other people or cause the
destruction of vital or strategic facilities.

* These crimes are then broken down into detailed acts,
ranging from petty acts such as the issuing of bogus threats to
major crimes such as using a nuclear device to create terror.

* The bill does not distinguish between civilian and military
personnel as regards terrorism, and thus all suspects must be
tried in civilian courts.

* Those convicted of committing terrorist acts may be punished
by death or a minimum of three years behind bars.

* A corporation involved in a terrorist act may be fined up to
Rp 1 trillion (about US$108 million) and have its operating
license revoked.

* Investigators also have the authority to search personnel
mail and parcels, and to tap telephone conversations or other
forms of communication, with the actual tapping being permissible
for a period of up to one year.

* Investigators, prosecutors and judges are given the power
under this bill to block any bank account belonging to suspected
terrorists or those funding terrorist activities.

* The state also has the obligation to pay compensation and
make restitution to the victims of terrorist acts based on court
rulings.

* The bill allows the Indonesian government to cooperate with
other countries in preventing and eliminating terrorism. This
includes intelligence and police cooperation.