Defense minister rejects impartial poll watchdog
Defense minister rejects impartial poll watchdog
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat has rejected calls to establish independent election watchdogs and to abolish the antisubversion law.
Edi said yesterday that an independent electoral monitoring body is not needed because Indonesia has the official supervision committee under the National Election Institute.
"The official committee is made up of representatives from all contesting parties and is led by the attorney general. What is the use of a new watchdog?" he asked in a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I for security.
Edi said Indonesia should make the official election supervision body improve its function from time to time, rather than establish an independent body.
The minister was responding to a House member's question about the Armed Forces' response to the announcement by a number of non-governmental organizations that they were establishing independent monitoring committees for the 1997 general election.
Last week, former home minister Rudini supported the proposal and said the government should cooperate with the independent committees.
Edi also reiterated the government's determination to maintain the controversial antisubversion law even though the demand to scrap it is mounting.
The latest to call on the government to repeal the law was the National Commission on Human Rights which said that the legislation violates people's basic rights.
"The law is still needed to protect the nation from disintegration," Edi said in the meeting chaired by Aisyah Amini from the United Development Party.
The threat will become more sophisticated in the future with the use of advanced information technology, he added.
But he stressed that it is possible for the government to review the law enacted in 1963 and revise it in line with the present-day demand.
The law targets activities viewed by the government as treason, such as undermining the state ideology Pancasila, disrespecting or attempting to topple the legitimate government, disseminating hatred in the community, disrupting state economic activities and espionage.
It allows the authorities to detain a suspect for up to one year until he or she is formally charged and the seizure of material believed to have been used in subversion activities.
House member Didiet Haryadi Priyohutomo from the ruling Golkar faction questioned why many government officials so freely allege people of not being "Pancasilaist".
He said that it should be the court which has the authority to judge if someone is pro-Pancasila or otherwise.
Edi said he agreed with Didiet. He said government officials should arm themselves with data before making accusations.
Tati S. Darsoyo, also from the Golkar faction, questioned the government's policy of underestimating the political implications of the wave of East Timorese youths seeking asylum abroad by forcing their way into foreign embassies in Jakarta.
She said the government has openly let anti-integration East Timorese leave Indonesia if they wish to do so. The policy is dangerous because the youths could be exploited by anti-Indonesia forces overseas to further their objectives, she argued.
"They can be used by foreign non-governmental organizations to corner Indonesia," she said. "The (defense and security) ministry should be more concerned about the issue."
Edi said East Timorese who sought asylum abroad were those who have inadequate comprehension of being part of Indonesia. (pan)