Legal experts criticize RI antiterrirism bill

Legal experts criticize RI antiterrirism bill

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Legal experts strongly criticized on Monday the antiterrorism
bill currently being formulated at the Ministry of Justice and
Human Rights, saying that the bill has condoned violence in its
articles.

Asmara Nababan, secretary-general of the National Commission
on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), urged the government to revoke the
bill as it could violate someone's basic rights and Article 28 of
the 1945 Constitution, which stipulates that someone must be
treated humanely before the law.

"Even a suspect has non-derogative rights before
investigators, which include representation by a lawyer; the
right to communicate with family members; the right to remain
silent; and the right to bail.

"Should these rights is abolished by the government, we are
creating a draconian law," Asmara told The Jakarta Post.

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the
Indonesian government began drafting an antiterrorism bill, which
is expected to be finished this month to be handed over to the
House of Representatives for deliberation.

The formulation of the bill is in response to the U.S.
government's call to cut off funding sources from terrorist
groups as stipulated in United Nations Security Council
Resolution No. 1373.

One article of the bill, however, takes away a suspect's basic
rights as it says that an alleged terrorist has no right: (a) to
be represented by a lawyer; (b) to be silent before
investigators; (c) to receive bail; (d) to communicate with
people including his family.

Former director of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute (YLBHI) Bambang Widjojanto shared Asmara's views,
saying that the government has been exploited by an outsider with
its 'own interests'.

"If we refer to the article, we realize that it adopts an
unjust procedure within our legal system which actually had been
dropped years ago," Bambang said.

He further asserted that combating terrorism with violence
would not solve the problem as "terrorism itself is the result of
a system of injustice and violence."