NGOs against anti-terrorism bill

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Non-governmental organizations urged the government on Friday to halt the drafting of an anti-terrorism act, which they feared would pose a threat to democracy due to its ambiguous definition of terrorism.

Representatives of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) and the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said that a better alternative would be for the government to formulate a clear-cut national concept on defense and security to deal with terroristic acts.

Speaking in a discussion, YLBHI head of civil and political rights division, Munarman, pointed out that the substance of what the government defined as terrorism is already contained in the existing Criminal Code and the emergency law.

"The anti-terrorism definition is not necessary if the government upholds the implementation of the existing laws.

"If the government continues drafting laws to accommodate the drive against terrorism, then it would be better off to draw up a concept of national defense," Munarman said.

Article 1 of the bill, still being hammered out by the government's drafting team, states that terrorism constitutes any activity using violence or threats based on political motives.

This includes endangering other people's lives, destroying property, obstructing freedoms or creating panic amongst the public.

The bill also states that there should be an anti-terrorism task force with broad authority to investigate using a system of interrogation, whereby suspects have neither the right to an attorney, nor the right to contact any other people.

Another speaker, political observer Arbi Sanit, said that the public should be aware that these laws could be used by the government to suppress people's political awareness.

Under this law, he added, people's demands or protests against government policies -- or demands by any region or province for independence -- could be classified as terrorist activities with political intention.

"Kidnapping for ransom, or detonating grenades without clear demands, according to the bill, would not be categorized as acts of terrorism -- the public should urge the formation of a law to avoid engineered charges," by authorities, he said.