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)