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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