Govt drafting bill on defense system

Govt drafting bill on defense system

SEMARANG (JP): The government is drafting a law that will
become the legal basis for people's participation in the national
defense system, Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat
said yesterday.

Edi said in a seminar on the national defense system that
providing citizens with basic military training has strategic
significance and therefore it needs a legal basis.

The law, he said, will provide the foundation and underlying
philosophy of citizens' participation in the national defense
system.

"It's expected that the law will give the people a complete
picture on what their involvement in the defense system would
mean," he said.

The seminar also featured law experts Yusril Ihza Mahendra
from the University of Indonesia and Muladi and Satjipto Rahardjo
from Semarang's Diponegoro University .

According to Edi, the bill will need to be socialized to erase
doubts about the effectiveness of people's participation in the
national defense system.

Edi said the government intends to make the future law as
comprehensive as possible so it will not have to be revised only
a few years after it is passed.

Yusril, an expert in constitutional law, said the law would
hopefully help boost relations between the military and
civilians.

Under the present political system, he argued, there is a
misperception that the military is superior to civilians.

"It's high time that Indonesians became aware that defending
the nation's unity is the responsibility of every citizen," he
said.

Muladi, who is rector of Diponegoro University and a senior
member of the National Commission on Human Rights, stressed the
need for Indonesia to explain the law to the international
community.

This information campaign will be important, he argued, to
assure neighboring countries that Indonesia is not becoming a
militaristic state.

He also proposed that the future law should be flexible about
punishment for those who fail to take part in basic military
training for whatever reason.

"They should be given alternatives, paying a fine or
performing community service for a certain period of time," he
said. (har/amd)