House endorses regulations on terrorism after four months
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Security officials now have a firm legal basis to deal with terrorism across the country as the House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed two government regulations as antiterrorism bills.
The bills, one on terrorism eradication, the other on the application of the antiterrorism draft for the Bali terrorist attacks, were officially endorsed by legislators on Thursday, paving the way for President Megawati Soekarnoputri to enact them into laws.
During a House plenary meeting, two factions openly rejected the government regulations, while seven others accepted them with some notes.
With the House endorsing the two bills, deliberations on two other terrorism bills will be stopped. Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Thursday the government would withdraw the bills as soon as possible.
The bills were drafted in response to the deadly Bali bombing on Oct. 12 which killed at least 202 people and injured over 350 others, mostly foreigners.
Yusril said his ministry would soon prepare revisions to those laws in response to the demands by House factions.
"The bills on the revisions to those terrorism laws will not take much time," Yusril said on his acceptance speech.
Some factions wanted article 28, which allows investigators to detain suspected terrorists for seven days without clear charges, be scrapped.
Before legislators endorsed the bills, there was strong opposition from two factions, the Reform faction consisting of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Justice Party (PK), and the Daulatul Ummah Party (PDU) faction consisting of small Islamic parties.
This opposition forced House deputy speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, who presided over the meeting, to adjourn for an informal meeting with faction leaders.
The half-an-hour meeting could not ease the tension, prompting factions to vote on those articles.
A total of 220 legislators from seven factions voted for the endorsement while members of the Reform and the PDU factions refused to vote.
"We are not responsible for the endorsement of those laws," said Patrialis Akbar of the Reform faction.
Some members of the Reform faction, Alvin Lie, Mutammimul Ula, and Mashadi walked out of the meeting hall. Hartono Mardjono of the PDU faction did the same thing.
Article 22 of the Constitution stipulates that in case of emergency the President has the right to issue a government regulation in lieu of law.
Second paragraph of the article says that the government regulation must get approval from the House of Representatives (DPR) in the following sitting session.
The third paragraph stipulates that should it get no approval from the House, the government must revoke the policy.
Imam Addaruqutni, spokesman of the Reform faction, said there was no reason to declare a state of emergency and to issue government regulations.
He added that the government regulations should have been discussed at a sitting session from Oct. 28 through Nov. 29, 2002.