ISA not needed to fight terrorism, activists say

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Activists slammed on Sunday a proposal from Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil that Indonesia needed a draconian Singapore- style International Security Act (ISA) to combat terrorism, saying such a proposal was a move by the government to deflect criticism if its inability to counter increasing numbers of terror attacks.

Human rights activist Hendardi said that what was needed in the fight against terrorism was better intelligence work in detecting potential threats, rather than the enactment of a new regulation.

"We already have the Criminal Code Law which is more than enough to arrest people suspected of possessing explosives and firearms," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He feared that the enactment of an ISA that granted greater powers to the security authorities would give rise to the risk of human rights abuses in the enforcement process.

Hendardi was commenting in response to a proposal by Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil that Indonesia should pass an Internal Security Act (ISA) to enable the authorities to launch preemptive measures against terrorist acts.

The minister cited Singapore and Malaysia as countries that had been successful in curbing terror by employing their ISAs. "An ISA is of great importance for the country as it will provide greater powers for the authorities to take preventative measures," Matori said over the weekend.

After the blast in the JW Marriot Hotel that claimed 11 lives and wounded 149 others, the government has been heightening security measures around the country, especially in public spaces. It has conducted ID card checks and also searched homes for explosives.

In the wake of Bali blasts in October 2002, which claimed the lives of 202 people, the government enacted an antiterrorism law.

Saying that the failure to stop a recent string of blasts in the country should be blamed on weak intelligence work, Hendardi demanded that the government dismiss the chairman of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Hendropriyono, and the Indonesian Chief Police Gen. Da'i Bachtiar. "Apologies are not enough. They should resign," he said.

Indonesian Human Rights Watch executive director Munir voiced a similar view. He said the proposal was an attempt by the government to cover up its lack of success in the campaign against terrorism.

He said that rather than taking concrete actions to curb terrorism, the government was instead trying to increase its power to control the public.

"Greater power on the part of the government can easily lead to the abuse of it," he said, adding that the enactment of an ISA could also be used to curb criticism of the government's policy.

He told the Post that the government should learn from the Philippine government, which shunned the use of security regulations produced during the authoritarian regime of president Marcos, despite escalating terrorist attacks.

He said that what the government should do in the first place was to improve the work of the state intelligence agencies.

"I have heard that the director of BIN had been forewarned about the Marriot blast, but I do not see that any action was taken to prevent that calamity from happening."