Megawati orders ministers to improve antiterrorism bill

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri instructed her ministers on Thursday to improve the draft of a bill on antiterrorism before submitting it to the House of Representatives (DPR) for deliberation.

Speaking to journalists after attending a Cabinet meeting here on Thursday, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the President wanted the bill to uphold the government's stance on fighting terrorism.

"The President wants the bill to uphold the basic principles on how Indonesia views terrorism and to impose measures to deal with the problem," he said.

"The President has ordered (the related ministers) to discuss the bill immediately and submit it to the House as soon as possible," Susilo said.

The minister did not pinpoint what part of the bill had to be improved but analysts have criticized the bill for its vague definition of terrorism and the exclusion of politically motivated terrorist acts.

The bill, which was drafted by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has been submitted to Susilo and discussed at Cabinet meetings. The House has also given the green light for the government to submit the bill for deliberations.

Terrorism, according to the government, is an indiscriminate act of violence committed against the public. The government is to ensure that the bill does not categorize certain races, religions or ethnicities as terrorist groups.

The police will be the leading agency in dealing with domestic terrorism, while the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral cooperation should fight international terrorist groups.

Susilo said the President demanded that those stances need to be clearly reflected in the bill, and it should be submitted to the House as soon as possible.

In a clear attempt to respond to international pressure on Jakarta's measures to curb terrorism in the country, the government has sped up the bill's preparation.

Susilo said earlier that the government needed legal grounds to launch a major crackdown on alleged terrorist groups operating in the country.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has been labeled a safe haven for terrorists as it is considered to have failed in dealing with domestic Muslim extremist groups.

The government discussed the 46 articles in the bill with the House earlier this week and received a positive response from the legislators.

Analysts have said they noticed various flaws in the bill, including vague measures for the questioning of suspected terrorists and the bill's unclear definition of terrorism.

Some have expressed fear that the ambiguous points would create loopholes for security officers to go beyond their authority in processing terrorism cases or be used by the government to silence political opposition, especially from Muslim groups.

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Soetarto said that the bill would not be another weapon for the government to use.

"It was drafted by Yusril, who also heads a Muslim-based party, so it would not violate the rights of any Muslim groups," he said.