Crackdown on terrorism threatens SE Asia democracy

Crackdown on terrorism threatens SE Asia democracy

Karl Malakunas, Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Moves by Southeast Asian governments to enact authoritarian laws
to fight terrorism will reverse many hard-won democratic gains
and could backfire, civil rights campaigners said on Tuesday.

Human rights advocates and security analysts expressed concern
that the push to introduce hardline security laws could lead to a
repeat of abuses that occurred under many of the undemocratic
regimes that have ruled in the region.

"A lot of abuses occurred in the past in the name of fighting
communism," Sinapan Samydorai, president of the Think Center, one
of Singapore's few civil rights group, told AFP.

"Now there are fears of the same again, this time under the
name of (fighting) terrorism."

Last week's car bomb blast on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta
has sparked a debate among many in Indonesia and elsewhere in the
region about the trade-off between civil liberties and the fight
against terrorism.

Indonesia's military chief, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, called
on Monday for security laws based on those in neighboring
Singapore and Malaysia that allow for the indefinite detention of
suspects deemed a threat to national security.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also announced tough
new security laws on Monday, which he enacted without the
approval of parliament.

In the Philippines, President Gloria Arroyo is continuing her
struggle to win approval for antiterrorism laws based on the
controversial Patriot Act that was introduced in the United
States after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Samydorai and other civil rights campaigners said the moves
threatened democratic gains won through decades of struggle
against the likes of Soeharto in Indonesia, Ferdinand Marcos in
the Philippines and the military juntas that plagued Thailand in
the 1970s and 80s.

"A lot of people may feel an authoritarian hand may be a
better choice than a new flourishing democracy," the executive
director of Malaysian human rights group Suaram, Cynthia Gabriel,
told AFP.

"This goes against the grain of what we are trying to say that
in addressing any kind of terrorist network, what's really needed
is a respect for different ethnic groups and genuine democracy."

Suaram is one of the many critics of Malaysia's Internal
Security Act, under which more than 70 suspected Islamic
militants are being detained without trial.

Security analyst Andrew Tan, from the Institute of Defense and
Strategic Studies in Singapore, said many people in Indonesia
would still oppose the introduction of a Malaysian-style ISA
despite last week's bombing in Jakarta.

"The problem for Indonesia is it's going to be very difficult
to introduce similar legislation because of the past abuses of
the Suharto government," Tan said.

"The politics in Indonesia is very diverse and fractured... I
don't think you would get a consensus."

Tan said regional governments had to understand the effects
tougher security measures could have, warning abuse of such laws
would fuel the resentment that has driven some disaffected
Muslims towards violence and extremism.

"Governments have to be very careful that their actions are
seen to be legitimate otherwise it will contribute to a worsening
of the situation given they don't want to alienate the Muslim
ground," he said.

In the Philippines, leftwing Senator Satur Ocampo, whose Bayan
Muna party has campaigned to water down Arroyo's planned anti-
terrorism legislation, also warned draconian measures could
backfire.

"The social, political and economic issues underlying the
activities of these organizations have been around for a long
time and can't be erased by reducing everything to acts of
terrorism," Ocampo said.

He called on governments to spend more energy focusing on the
root causes of terrorism rather than enact tougher security
measures, saying laws were in most cases already adequate.

"Most of the acts are already designated as crimes under
specific laws, such as murder," he said.

But amid the growing climate of fear, Ocampo conceded
Indonesia and other governments may increasingly be persuaded
that tough pre-emptive action is needed.

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