New ruling on permits ready soon

New ruling on permits ready soon

JAKARTA (JP): The government is about to make good on its
promise to ease permit requirements for gatherings, announcing
yesterday that new guidelines regulating them will come into
effect next month.

Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
Soesilo Soedarman revealed that a coordinating meeting of
ministers under his charge approved a draft guideline on permits
and notification of gatherings.

The draft was prepared by an inter-departmental team, headed
by Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman. The team was founded in
June to review the controversial regulations requiring people to
obtain permission for every gathering, including cultural
performances.

"The guideline will be incorporated in a decree which is
scheduled to be signed on Dec. 19, and will become effective as
of January 1996," Soesilo said.

He would not disclose details of the guideline saying that it
will be fully elaborated on after it is formally signed.

"This is not designed to make things difficult, but rather as
a clear guideline for both the people and security officials," he
said after yesterday's meeting.

Among those that attended the meeting were Minister of Foreign
Affairs Ali Alatas, Minister of Defense and Security Gen. (ret.)
Edi Sudrajat, Minister of Information Harmoko and Minister/State
Secretary Moerdiono.

The government announced in August that it was waiving permit
requirements for non-political gatherings such as cultural,
religious and social events.

Requirements were also relaxed for political gatherings and
scientific seminars. People who plan to hold such gatherings are
only required to inform the police about the intended event.

But in the absence of clear guidelines, a number of meetings
and cultural performances have continued to become victims of
government bans on the pretext of ensuring order and stability.

Prior to the August announcement, security officials
maintained a tight grip on various social and political
gatherings. No less than 26 events had been broken-up in the
first half of this year, including several cultural performances.

Political figures and government critics such as Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri and
head of the Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization Abdurrahman Wahid
were among the victims of this policy.

The permit requirements have come under a great deal of
criticism with charges that they deviate from Article 28 of the
1945 Constitution's guaranteeing people's freedom of assemblage
and association.

When they made August's announcement, Soesilo and Oetojo said
that permit requirements were caused by unclear guidelines which
resulted in different interpretations by authorities on the
ground.

Soesilo said yesterday that he hoped the new decree would
clear up any confusion concerning people's right to assemble.

Speaking on the emergence of a number of new mass-
organizations, Soesilo said the government would tolerate them as
long as they conform with the existing laws governing these
issues.

"If they don't abide by the law, the government will not allow
them to exist," he warned.

A series of political laws enacted in 1985 ruled that only
three political parties are allowed to contest the general
election. The legislation also required mass organizations to
pledge allegiance to the state ideology Pancasila and to register
with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

One of the new organizations which sprang-up last week,
Masyumi - named after a defunct Moslem party which was popular in
the 1950s - said it wants to become a political party in the
future.

"Don't take advantage of the government's good will," Soesilo
said.

Soesilo said that yesterday's meeting discussed the heightened
unrest and tensions that have been detected in many parts of the
country in recent months.

"We will hold a special coordinating meeting to discuss the
disturbances going on in society," he said, adding that experts
on social psychology will be brought in to examine the causes.

Various parts of the country such as Purwakarta, West Java,
and Pekalongan, Central Java, and East Timor have been struck by
communal strife in the past two months. (mds)

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