Decree on terrorism discussed

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.