House vows to finalize terror law this month
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives (DPR) pledged on Tuesday to complete the deliberations of two bills on terrorism in the current sitting as part of their support of the country's antiterrorism drive.
The two bills, submitted last week, will be the enactment of two government antiterrorism regulations in lieu of law, which were hastily created as a response to the Oct. 12 Bali bombing. When they become laws they will replace the current regulations.
Barlianta Harahap of the United Development Party (PPP) said Tuesday that his faction would make the terrorism bills a top priority.
"We have to put those bills as the top priority because this nation is in urgent need of a terrorism law," said Barlianta who chairs the PPP faction.
Chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction Roy B.B. Janis, meanwhile, appealed to other factions to seriously discuss the bills.
"We hope the deliberations of those bills will be completed in this sitting period," Roy told the press.
The current sitting will end on Nov. 29.
Roy expressed his hope that the bills would be discussed by a special committee rather than by a team of joint legislators from different commissions.
The government submitted the bills last Thursday to provide a strong legal foundation for law enforcers in dealing with suspected terrorist groups which had already created havoc to the country's economy with the Oct. 12 Bali blasts that killed more than 190 people and injured over 300 others.
In a letter accompanying the bills, President Megawati Soekarnoputri urged legislators to speed up the deliberations of the drafts.
"Those bills should be the top priority of the House's legislation," Megawati's message stated.
In the letter, Megawati assigned Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra to discuss the bills with the legislators.
According to Barliantan, the need to immediately discuss the terrorism bills was also mandated by a decree of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) No.VI/MPR/2002.
The decree said that along with DPR, the president should enact an antiterrorism law in which its definition and imperative action would emphasize the sovereignty of Indonesia.
Secretary of the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction Amin Said Husni echoed a similar sentiment, saying that he hoped the House could soon start deliberations.
Deputy House speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, who presided over the plenary meeting, said that the bills would later be presented to the House steering committee for further deliberation.
The 76-member House steering committee, which is scheduled to convene on Thursday, will later set up a special committee to deal to work on the bills and arrange the schedule for deliberations.
A number of pro-democracy activists have warned of possible abuses of the laws by law enforcers in relation to the new laws.
They argued that excessive authority given to security personnel as stipulated in the bills would seriously threaten the country's young, fragile democracy.
It will, for example, allow law enforcers and intelligence agents to search an individual's or a group's mail, and to tap telephone conversations or other forms of communication for up to one year.
They also object to the use of intelligence information to detain and prosecute suspected terrorists, fearing that it could be abused to crack down on political opponents or government critics.