Govt revises law on state of emergency

Govt revises law on state of emergency

JAKARTA (JP): The government is revising the controversial law
on state of emergency before it will be enacted within the next
two weeks, said Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza
Mahendra on Tuesday.

Yusril said a team from the justice and human rights ministry,
the Defense Ministry, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the
National Police would start reviewing the law on Tuesday evening,
while the deliberation by the House of Representatives was
expected to be completed in a short time.

"The government will submit the draft revision of the law to
the House as soon as possible so that the law will be effective
in the next two weeks," he told The Jakarta Post after a hearing
with the House's Commission II on legal and home affairs here.

Yusril, however, declined to reveal in details which articles
in the law would be revised.

The government decided to postpone the endorsement of the law,
which was passed by the House in September last year, following a
strong protests from many sectors, including students.

Yusril said the House could not apply the amended 1945
Constitution as legal grounds to pass the law, citing that the
Constitution was amended in August this year, while the House
passed the law in September last year.

"So the amendment still requires the approval of the
President," he said.

In a consultative meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid
last week, House leaders urged the government to automatically
enact the law in accordance with the amended Constitution.

The amended Constitution stipulates that laws that are not
revised within 30 days after being postponed will automatically
become effective.

Yusril said the government had no plan to stop imposing the
state of civil emergency in the troubled provinces of Maluku and
North Maluku until security and order were restored in both
provinces.

"The state of emergency in the two provinces will be
maintained because the situation remains tense and the status is
needed to prevent bloodshed between conflicting groups," he said.

He said the military would continue to take part in emergency
administration in the two provinces because the declaration of
the state of emergency was based on the stricter 1959 law.

"The state of emergency will be maintained although the new
law will only take effect in the next two weeks," he said.

Meanwhile, the House Commission I on foreign affairs, defense
and security delayed its hearing with Minister of Defense Mahfud
M.D. on Tuesday after learning that the newly-appointed National
Police Chief Gen. Bimantoro would accompany the minister to the
hearing.

A source at the commission said the meeting with the minister
was delayed because the House had opposed the appointment of
Bimantoro as the new police chief. Bimantoro was appointed by
President Abdurrahman Wahid in the absence of approval from the
House as regulated by the 2000 MPR decree on the role of the
military and the National Police. (rms)