Deliberation of state emergency bill to end

Deliberation of state emergency bill to end

JAKARTA (JP): Amid mounting protests, the House of
Representatives (DPR) came closer to finishing on Tuesday the
deliberation of the state security bill.

To further improve the wording of the bill, the House's
special committee in charge of the bill deliberation met with
Minister of Defense and Security/Indonesian Military (TNI)
Commander Gen. Wiranto, who sponsors the draft law.

Muslich of the United Development Party suggested changing the
phrase "threats to state sovereignty" to "threats to people and
state sovereignty" in order to give a clearer context.

The idea, however, was rejected by the floor. "The term
'state' already contains the government, people and territorial
elements," said Rudy Supriatna of the Armed Forces faction.

Wiranto agreed, saying: "Let us not pit elements of the
government or people against each other. The bill is intended to
protect the state, which also means the people."

There were no major obstacles in the deliberation as all
representatives of the four factions in the House agreed to pass
the bill on Thursday, the day before the present 500 House
members effectively end their terms.

Committee chief Agus Muhyidin of Golkar earlier ruled out the
possibility of delaying the bill's endorsement. He met with
Golkar party chairman Akbar Tandjung on Monday night, when he
reported the progress of the deliberation.

The House will be on a one-week recess until its new members
are sworn in on Oct. 1.

Objections to the bill kept coming in from outside the House
on Tuesday.

In Semarang, Central Java, about 100 students of Semarang's
Walisongo State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) staged a
protest on their campus on Tuesday rejecting the military-
sponsored security bill.

"Once the bill is enacted, the military will be free to
interpret any occurrence as a state of emergency. So the military
could raid, arrest or abduct people in the name of state
security," M. Nadzir, the group coordinator, said.

The Central Java chapter of the National Mandate Party (PAN)
joined the chorus of contention on Tuesday. The newly elected
secretary of the PAN faction at the provincial legislative body,
Tjipto Subandi, said his office had planned to issue a petition
opposing the bill's enactment.

In Surabaya, the capital of East Java, 500 students from
various universities protested in front of the provincial
legislature, demanding a halt to the bill deliberation and the
military's dual role.

Guntur, a representative of the Anti-Militarism Movement (GAM)
student group, said the military would make use of the bill to
justify its return to politics.

"The military anticipates a deadlock in the General Session of
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). It will invoke the
state security law to seize power," said Guntur, who is on a
hunger strike with four of his friends.

Meanwhile in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, local police used
force to push hundreds of university student demonstrators out of
the provincial legislative council. The students were protesting
the bill.

Student coordinator, M. Isra Magassing of HMI-MPO, a wing of
the Indonesian Muslim Students Association, said the nation was
suffering from an uncertain sociopolitical climate.

"It's like a ship which has lost its direction," Isra said.

The rally was initially peaceful, with local councilors
receiving the students for a brief talk. It later turned violent
when police arrived to disperse the students.

Some students jumped over the council's fence, while others
could not escape the police batons.

Separately, another group of protesters protested the bill in
front of the town's military command.

The students accused the military of orchestrating a series of
riots which rocked the country over the past two years.

They said the bill would justify military intervention in
civilian affairs.

In his address to House Commission I for security and defense
on Monday, Wiranto said the growing opposition to the bill
stemmed from people's "lack of understanding of the contents of
the bill".

"It's like somebody who is offered a cookie, but saying no
before tasting it, ignoring the fact that the cookie is
delicious," Wiranto said. (05/30/edt/har/nur)