Extra powers for Mega

Extra powers for Mega

President Megawati Soekarnoputri's move to sign two
unprecedented government regulations designed to fight terrorism
following the Bali carnage of Oct. 12 is, by and large, a welcome
decision. At least it shows the serious -- albeit belated --
resolution of the government to take action and do something that
demonstrates that Indonesia, too, regards terrorism as an
extremely heinous act that threatens the fundamental fabric of
society.

As Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra
explained just before midnight on Friday, the government issued
both regulations in lieu of law, which could have taken months,
or even years, to be passed by the House of Representatives. This
measure was necessary, Yusril explained, because terrorism was an
extraordinary crime and a crime against humanity. Extraordinary
crimes demand extraordinary responses.

The government had already been working on a draft bill on
antiterrorism to be submitted to the House next month. During the
process, however, there was and still is very strong opposition
to the general guidelines for fighting terrorism as formulated in
the draft bill, which reminds people of the draconian
antisubversion law of the previous era of former president
Soeharto.

It is traumatic for at least two reasons: First, because the
antisubversion law essentially disregards basic human rights and
second, it provided the military with a very powerful tool to
control sociopolitical life in the country and maintain the
authoritarian regime of Soeharto for decades.

The downfall of Soeharto saw the end of an authoritarian
regime. Annulment of the antisubversion law was a great relief to
the whole country. It restarted the process of democratization
after more than 50 years of independence. Nobody wants the
revival of a similarly oppressive regime.

The Bali carnage, which left more than 180 people of different
nationalities dead -- mostly unidentified as yet because of the
devastating effects of the powerful bomb blast -- puts the
country, which has been entrenched in multidimensional crises for
more than five years, in a very difficult and seemingly hopeless
position.

The national tragedy, however, also brought forth new
opportunities for the whole nation, the government included, to
act together, not only to fight terrorism, but to rebuild the
country as well. While it is wholly inappropriate to say that the
Bali carnage has been a blessing in disguise, the fact is the
entire nation has now been given a huge stimulus to really focus
its attention and efforts.

The two new regulations are only a few tools among many that
could be used by the government to fight terrorism. They are
comprehensive enough, but at the same time contain loopholes that
could make them useless. The principle of retroactivity in the
regulations, for example, goes against both general legal
principles and the amended 1945 Constitution. However, if the
House of Representatives rejects them within 30 days, the
regulations must be withdrawn.

In fact, several other laws exist that could be used to fight
terrorism, as well as other international conventions, and are
still to be ratified but could be processed faster than the draft
bill.

What is lacking is the determination on the part of the
government, including the institutions that are responsible for
the security of the nation and the House of Representatives. To
some extent, there is some hesitation in using existing legal
tools due to the political bickering that has impeded the
upholding of law enforcement in this country so far.

These last few days, happily, have seen a diminution in the
bickering among politicians and government officials. Practically
everyone agrees that the Bali carnage is an extraordinary act of
terrorism that would not necessarily be limited to Bali. Nobody
argues against the urgency with which to do everything possible
to hunt down the perpetrators and prevent and preempt similar
acts from recurring.

President Megawati now has the luxury of an unprecedented
carte blanche to lead the country in fighting against terrorism
and to rebuild the nation at the same time. However, keeping in
mind the phrase "noblesse oblige" -- that privilege in general
brings its own obligations -- we hope Megawati will use her
government's newly acquired powers with the utmost discretion.

Although there is no doubt in our minds that the President is
well aware of this principle and does not need to be reminded of
it, we consider it useful to remind her, as others within her
inner circle of power holders might not have the same scruples
that Megawati has shown thus far.