Hasyim urges Mega to issue decree on antiterrorism

Tiarma Siboro and Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi has called on President Megawati Soekarnoputri to issue a decree ordering the arrest of terrorists here should intelligence reports alleging that Indonesia is a hotbed for international terrorists ring true.

"Skepticism is rife among the public who accuse us of being reluctant to deal with the terrorist issue and of failure to take effective measures due to the lack of a legal basis."

"The government's efforts to combat terrorism also face obstacles because all evidence was based on intelligence reports, which could not be used in the due process of law. If the President were determined to take tough action (against terrorists), then she could issue a decree," Hasyim told reporters at NU headquarters in Central Jakarta on Friday after holding a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce.

The meeting was held following a recent objection from Hasyim against the U.S. antiterror policy regarding Indonesia, which he considered was aimed at creating the public impression, via the mass media, that Indonesia was a hotbed for terrorist activities.

Hasyim said that while he gave his commitment to the fight against terrorism, he was against a government plan to to use either the 1959 State of Emergency Law or a 1999 law on state security to crack down on terrorism.

Rights activists have condemned the plan, saying that it failed to respect the principle of the presumption of innocence.

Activist Hendardi said that any attempt to crackdown on terrorism by issuing repressive regulations, be it in the form of legislation or a presidential decree, would be a setback for the country, which was moving toward democratization.

"In a democratic country, which is what this country aspires to be, the legal framework should provide plenty of leeway for public rights," he said on Friday.

He added that debate on the presence of terrorism in Indonesia had been blown out of proportion and provoked by some parties with vested interests, including the military.

"The terrorism allegations came from the U.S., but here, the issue had been used by the military for its own benefit, to pave the way for a better relationship with the U.S."

Issuing the decree, he went on, would create a negative impression with the public, because it showed that the government seemed able to do almost anything in the name of security.

"Besides, issuing a decree for one terrorist would be like bombing a mosquito with dynamite," he said, adding that the decree might hit the target but there would be no guarantee that it would not hurt other, innocent people.

Meanwhile, another legal expert, Topo Santoso, questioned the legal basis of the decree if the government were to proceed with its plan to issue one.

"There is no legal basis for issuing such a decree (to arrest terrorists). If we want to create a legal basis for the fight against terrorism, it has to be in the form of law," Topo, a law professor at the University of Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post.

"The fact is that we have to crack down on terrorists -- I have no problem with that -- but it must be based on law, which, of course, should provide little opportunity for rights abuses."

Hasyim also complained about the presence of foreign citizens in several restive regions, saying, "the situation could trigger radicalism ... that foreign countries have interfered in Indonesia's domestic problems."

"Our stand is clear on terrorism; we (NU) are asking the U.S. to end the polemic by submitting concrete data that will enable our security officers to proceed with legal action. We also warn the U.S. to be careful with its policy because any wrongdoing could tarnish the image of Islam, as well as Indonesia and the U.S itself," Hasyim said.

Hasyim's remarks were harsher than ulemas' lukewarm response to the government's move to involve them in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Indonesia has again drawn international attention after a CIA document revealed that several members of the international terrorist group al-Qaeda were operating here and had attempted to assassinate Megawati.

The document was published by Time magazine and was partly based on the testimony of Omar al-Faruq, a Kuwaiti citizen who claimed to be an al-Qaeda's medium-level operative. Al-Faruq was arrested and deported from Indonesia to the U.S. authorities in June through intelligence operations.

The document also reported that al-Faruq had made contact with Surakarta-based Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, chairman of the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI). Ba'asyir has reportedly become a target of intelligence operations.

Earlier, Hasyim said, before hundreds of NU executives from the East Java chapter, that certain parties in this country were trying to oust President Megawati Soekarnoputri. He refused to elaborate.

"The scenario to depose Megawati will cause many people to suffer. Several foreign countries are also interfering through various maneuvers, threatening our integrity," Hasyim said, as quoted by Antara.