House backs plans for Antiterror Law
Kurniawan Hari and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Major factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) are backing moves by the government to revise the anti-terrorism law, despite strong opposition from religious leaders and rights activists.
They also called for an informal meeting with the National Police and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to discuss the planned revision.
Nadhier Muhammad of the United Development Party (PPP), however, stressed that the law should not give more power to security authorities, in order to prevent the revival of an authoritarian government.
"We must avoid giving too much power to the government. This could lead to the revival of New Order practices," Nadhier told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.
Following the terrorist attack at the JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta on Aug. 5, the government called for the revision of the anti-terrorism law, to allow the Indonesian Military (TNI) and intelligence officers to play a greater role in the country's fight against terrorism.
The plan met with strong resistance from religious leaders and rights activists, who feared that giving more power to TNI and intelligence officers would lead to rights abuses, similar to the situation experienced during the 32 years of former president Soeharto's leadership. Nevertheless, legislators Ibrahim Ambong of Golkar and Djoko Susilo of the Reform faction, suggested on Tuesday, that the government submit the draft revision to the House as soon as possible.
Sembiring Meliala, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said earlier that giving extra power to intelligence officers would greatly benefit the anti-terrorism drive.
Separately, the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said on Tuesday that the government had established a team to work on the revision of the anti-terrorism law No. 15/2003.
"The team will look into several articles of the law, especially those on preemptive measures against terrorist attacks, and then the team will review and revise those articles if it is necessary," he elaborated.
According to Brig. Gen. (Pol) Alex Bambang Riatmodjo, one of Susilo's staff, the team was formed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and involved several other departments.
According to Susilo, articles slated to be revised include article 26, regarding intelligence reports, that may be used by authorities to start the investigation of terrorist attacks.
"We must give it clarity, the article should be effective in the field while not threatening democracy and human rights," said Susilo, adding that the outcome of the revision will be brought to the House.
Susilo acknowledged that the revision was proposed by the government on the grounds that the implementation of the law had not yet brought satisfactory results.
Ambong said that his faction considered the existing anti- terrorism law was more than adequate to combat terrorism.
Ambong, who chairs the House's Commission for defense and foreign affairs, emphasized that the problems were not with the law but with the poor coordination between state intelligence and security officials.
"We will scrutinize the draft's revision by the government," he told the Post. Meanwhile, Djoko said the revision must have one distinct meaning without the possibility of other interpretations.
He agreed that intelligence officers need more power in order to detect terrorist activities. "But, the stipulation must be defined clearly to avoid multi-interpretation," he said.