Gus Dur, activist reject Antiterorism Law revision
Gus Dur, activist reject Antiterorism Law revision
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A former Indonesian president and human rights activists
expressed opposition on Saturday to government plans to revise
the antiterrorism law, saying the move, which would allow the
Indonesian military (TNI) greater power to curb terrorism, was
prone to human rights abuses.
"Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism is already adequate to tackle
the threats of terrorism. Security agencies, including police and
TNI intelligence should improve their performance, not change the
law," said former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, also the
former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest
Muslim organization with over 40 million members.
Gus Dur was speaking to reporters after addressing a
discussion organized by the Institute for Social and Economic
Research, Education, and Information.
His comments were made after Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced
last Thursday that the government was planning to revise the
antiterrorism law.
Susilo, a retired Army general, said the law needed revision
on the grounds that it had hampered security agencies from taking
preemptive measures against terrorist attacks.
The government has been criticized for its failure to detect
and prevent the JW Marriot Hotel terrorist attack, which left at
least 12 people dead and another 147 injured early this month.
The National Intelligence Agency (BIN), which is in charge of
coordinating the country's antiterror campaign, had said that it
knew that attacks were planned but was powerless to act as
existing laws did not allow it to take preemptive measures.
The government wanted to revise the law to allow the TNI to
play a greater role in fighting terror. The TNI, which dominated
the country's political scene for more than three decades under
the authoritarian leadership of former president Soeharto, is
generally believed to have the best intelligence in the country.
Separately, human rights activist Hendardi said the planned
revision was merely a government trick to divert attention from
the fact that security authorities had failed to prevent
terrorist attacks in the country.
"The government must admit that security authorities have
failed to anticipate the terrorist attacks. Instead of covering
up the fact, the government should move ahead to enhance the
ability of security agencies to help tackle the threats of
terrorism."
Hendardi told The Jakarta Post that aside from poor equipment
and poor professionalism, security agencies lacked coordination
among themselves.
"The intelligence and police force have poor team work. Even
worse, intelligence, spearheaded by the TNI, is often caught in
covert competition with the police force, making their counter-
terrorism work largely ineffective," he said.
Hendardi said the lack of coordination should be addressed,
not the existing law.
Gus Dur said police and intelligence agents must involve the
public in tackling the threats of terrorism.
Separately, human rights activist Asmara Nababan expressed
concern over the possible inclusion of draconian articles in any
revised antiterrorism law.