Decree on terrorism discussed

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Tuesday that the government had yet to discuss the possibility of issuing a presidential decree on terrorism in response to the UN Security Council's resolution on the freezing of assets belonging to terrorist groups.

"The government has yet to decide on the issuance of a presidential decree," Yusril told reporters, after attending a meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs.

He said that the Attorney General's Office had formally requested Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, to freeze 28 bank accounts belonging to companies suspected of having links with Osama bin Laden, who has been accused by the United States of being behind the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Law No. 10/1998 on banking prohibits a governor, or any director of BI, from freezing any account unless the state prosecutor's office orders the bank to do so.

"But, there has yet to be any freezing of bank accounts as government investigators have found that there are no such companies in the country," he said during a joint media conference with Attorney General M.A. Rachman.

It had earlier been reported that the government was set to issue a presidential decree on terrorism to enable it to access the bank accounts of individuals or groups believed to have links with international terrorists.

Any decision to issue a decree would be designed to circumvent the existing legal provisions forbidding any party, including the government, from freezing any assets without official notification from prosecutors, the police or the courts.

Immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, the UN Security Council issued a resolution urging member countries to freeze bank accounts and assets of suspected terrorist groups.

The U.S. government also distributed a list of 26 terrorist- related organizations to all allied countries, including Indonesia.

Yusril said the government had explained to the UN Security Council that any action involving the freezing of assets or accounts had to be based on prima facie evidence of involvement or links with terrorist organizations.

"Freezing one's account(s) is only possible if there are indications of the commission of a criminal offense," he said quoting the Criminal Code.

The minister also said, however, that the government would soon publish a draft bill on terrorism and ratify three resolutions of the UN Security Council on bombings, terrorist groups and transnational organized crimes.

"We hope that with the passing of the law on terrorism and the ratification of the three UN resolutions, the country will have a legal umbrella for taking action against terrorists and cooperating with other countries in the fight against them," he said.

Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda upon arriving back from Brunei Darussalam said that the government was still investigating the accounts of 28 organizations, allegedly connected with terrorist groups.

He cited that it is the obligation of all member countries of the United Nations to conduct the investigation in compliance with the UN Security Council resolution on fighting terrorism.

"When we find the accounts we will freeze them, and then we will find the owners of the accounts should they be present here in the country," Hassan said.

Hassan had just returned from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit which he attended as a member of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's entourage.

During the summit, ASEAN countries underscored their intention of fighting against terrorism, and also voiced concerns about the Afghanistan people who are suffering due to the U.S. military attacks.

He said that there was no pressure on the government on the issue, adding that all countries were conducting the same investigations and would report their findings to the UN security council on Dec. 28.

"The government is also strengthening the legal infrastructure. We will ratify international conventions on terrorism and prepare an antiterrorist bill," he said.