Cabinet preparing decree to freeze terrorist assets
Cabinet preparing decree to freeze terrorist assets
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
and Tiarma Siboro
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
The government appears set to issue a presidential
decree on antiterrorism to enable it to access bank accounts of
individuals or groups believed to have links with international
terrorists.
Minister of Communications and Information Syamsul Mu'arif
stated after attending a coordination meeting of political and
security ministers that intelligence officers were now preparing
to look into several suspicious bank accounts.
"Our intelligence people are launching an investigation of
several bank accounts which allegedly have links with terrorists
and soon we (the government) will issue the antiterrorism
decree.
"Issuing the decree is necessary so that we will not violate
the banking law," he said.
Syamsul said he could not reveal the exact date that the
decree would be issued.
He explained that the directive would be a temporary measure
while Indonesia officially creates an antiterrorism law.
The government is currently debating whether to ratify United
Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1373 on the suppression
of the financing of terrorism or to write a new antiterrorism
bill.
The UN Security Council issued the resolution following the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
Following the resolution, the U.S. government called on its
allies, including Indonesia, to cut off funding sources from
terrorist groups.
The U.S. government also distributed a list of 26 terrorist-
related organizations to all allied countries. That list includes
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, the Abu Sayyaf group in the
Philippines and the Salafist Group in Algeria.
Some Western media reported earlier that a number of
Indonesian groups with apparent links to al-Qaeda had been
identified.
However, Bank Indonesia said that it could not freeze bank
accounts without official notification from prosecutors, police
or the courts.
The central bank argued that bank law No. 10/1998 did not
allow for the freezing of any accounts unless the owner is
officially a suspect or proven guilty in a criminal case.
Meanwhile, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza
Mahendra said his office preferred to draft an Indonesian
antiterrorism bill rather than endorsing the recent U.N Security
Council resolution.
Yusril said his office had begun working on such a bill, but
will not complete it until December at the earliest.
He also added that during a trip to the U.S., he convinced
leaders there of Indonesia's strong commitment to fighting
terrorism, including cutting off financial sources.
In return, Yusril said, the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation will assist Indonesian authorities in tracing
tainted money held in overseas banks.
Yusril also said that the government and the House of
Representatives would expedite the deliberation of a money
laundering bill, as required by Indonesia's donors.
Yusril acknowledged that a delay in the passage of the money
laundering bill could become a barrier for further loans to
Indonesia from donors grouped together in the Consultative Group
on Indonesia (CGI).
Members of CGI are slated to convene a meeting in Jakarta on
Nov. 7 and 8 to determine the amount of money they will lend to
the government for next year's budget.