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.