Govt opts for 'humane' spy bill

Govt opts for 'humane' spy bill

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The defense ministry is preparing a revision of the draft bill on
intelligence, as the initial draft was criticized for being
detrimental to human rights protection in the country.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said he was in
consultation with members of public, including scholars, to
produce a brand new draft, which he said would be "more humane"
than the old one proposed during the previous administration.

"Between 2000 and 2003, the public was very responsive to the
government's move to formulate a bill on intelligence. Rights
activists stood against it because the bill granted greater
powers to intelligence officers while carrying out their jobs,"
Juwono said after a closed-door meeting with a group of scholars.

He was referring to the state intelligence bill, which the
government has dropped due to mounting opposition from a variety
of critical groups. Juwono said the old bill was prone to civil
rights abuses.

Should the House of Representatives endorse the old bill, it
would give the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to power to
intervene in the work of the police and allow for the use of
intelligence reports as prima facie evidence, which would thus be
admissible in a court of law.

"I must emphasize that such a bill neither came from this
office nor the BIN office. I don't know who proposed it," Juwono
asserted.

"My policy now is to invite officials and experts from related
institutions, including BIN, to formulate together a new draft,
which represents democratic circumstances and respects human
rights."

The scholars proposed to Juwono on Thursday a draft that
clearly stipulates a chain of responsibility to prevent superiors
from abusing their power or evading justice. Even the president
can be questioned in connection with an intelligence operation,
according to the draft.

"We need intelligence services. However, they should not
negatively impact on the public, at large. Furthermore, the
government must provide a clear mechanism of punishment instead
of granting impunity to intelligence officers," one of the
scholars, Eddy Prasetyono of the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), said.

The bill demands the establishment of a new agency tasked with
monitoring and coordinating intelligence activities and reporting
any progress of the activities to the president.

Called the Coordinating Institute of National Intelligence
(LKIN), the new body supervises all the country's intelligence
authorities ranging from the National Intelligence Agency (BIN)
to intelligence units attached to certain ministries.

The scholars suggested that the agency be led by a civilian.

Other experts attending the meeting with Juwono were
criminologist Adrianus Meliala and military analysts Ikrar Nusa
Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), Kusnanto
Anggoro and Andi Widjajanto, both from CSIS.

They have recently formed the Center for Global and Civil
Society Studies (Pacivis).

Their draft provides a mechanism of control over all
intelligence activities, which enables intelligence officers to
ask for a clarification directly from their superiors "if they
consider their duties vulnerable to human rights violations or
abuses of power."

It also emphasizes that any intelligence activity conform with
the state's policies, which thus gives the executive branch the
right to access and monitor the activities.

Participation by the legislature is part of the mechanism of
control, especially for budget approval on intelligence
operations and the establishment of a monitoring commission.