Commission scraps articles on press freedom, human rights
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Several articles on human rights, including one that guarantees freedom of the press, have been omitted from the draft of constitutional amendments prepared by the Constitutional Commission.
The commission also scrapped Article 28 (i) which protects anyone from being charged under retroactive laws.
A number of the commission members, however, expressed their surprise, after noting that the articles were still there on Friday.
Some of them called on Monday for a plenary session to push for the revival of those articles before the commission presents its work to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) scheduled for May 6.
"The article on freedom of the press was taken out after it was discussed in the small team tasked with reconciling our amendments. I regret this," commission member Krisna Harahap said on the sidelines of a discussion on the draft revision of the Constitution here.
Krisna called on fellow commission members to fight for the inclusion of the article on press freedom in the Constitution.
If press freedom is constitutionally acknowledged, he said, all laws and legislation which are regarded as detrimental to the press must be revised.
The small team comprised 10 members; Sri Soemantri, Albert Hasibuan, Neneng Fatimah, Sri Adiningsih, Ishak Latuconsina, Maria Farida Indrati, Bunyamin Ramto, Jawahir Tantowi, Fajrul Falaakh and Bahder Johan Nasution.
Latuconsina said the team dropped the freedom of the press article because the Constitution only recognizes individual rights.
"Freedom of the press is the right of an institution, therefore we cannot put it into the Constitution," he said.
Leo Batubara, a member of the Press Council, could not conceal his disappointment over the omission and warned the press of a possible increase in oppressive measures against it.
Apart from disposing of press freedom, the commission also proposed substantial revisions and editorial changes to the amendments made by the MPR between 1999 and 2003.
The final say, however, will rest with the Assembly, which formed the commission.
It still is unclear as to which group of MPR legislators will deal with the commission's suggestions, as some Assembly members said the work of the Constitutional Commission would be passed on to the MPR members who were elected in the April 5 legislative election.
Among the revisions proposed by the commission are the reinstatement of consensus as the mandatory way of decision making, instead of a democratic-style vote.
The Constitution calls for a standard vote.
The commission also proposed that amendments to the Constitution be approved by the people via a national referendum.
Draft revision to the amended Constitution =============================================================== 1. Article 3 (1) : Amendments need approval of the people
through a national referendum. 2. Article 6A (2) : Independent presidential candidates are
allowed to contest. 3. Article 6A (3) : A simple majority applies in presidential
elections. 4. Article 16 : The President can form a national security
council fo input on state
security. 5. Article 18 (4) : Governors, regents, mayors will be elected
through a direct election. 6. Article 20 (6) : If the President fails to sign any
draft laws, the bills will be returned to
the House of Representatives for further
deliberation. 7. Article 20 (7) : If a bill is endorsed by 2/3 of House
members, the President is obligated to sign it. 8. Article 22 : Government regulation in lieu of law can
be revoked with the issuance of a law. 9. Article 25 a : The Prosecutor is a law enforcer that executes
the indictment 10. Article 33 (5) : The state promotes all economic producers
equally and sustainably. ================================================================ Source: Constitutional Commission's final draft