Opposition mounts over state security bill

Opposition mounts over state security bill

JAKARTA (JP): The Independent Commission for Missing Persons
and Victims of Violence (Kontras) joined other observers on
Thursday in denouncing the newly submitted bill on state
security, which it said would kill democracy in the country.

"This bill will kill democracy and return the country to the
rule of an authoritarian power... The bill is even worse than
the subversion law which was revoked by the People's Consultative
Assembly last year," said Tommy Aryanto, coordinator of Kontras'
monitoring department in a press conference here.

He said Kontras has studied the bill and found numerous
"irrationalities" that ran counter to democratization.

Tommy said the bill's submission was a setback for Indonesia's
fledgling democracy.

"We have to reject the bill (the way we rejected) the
subversion law because it was against the spirit of the reform
movement."

The bill seeks to position people as enemies of the state, and
to put the interests of the state above everything else, he said.
In addition, it negated the sovereignty of the people over their
territory and the government.

The bill implies that public officials and the military are
allowed to exercise violence, such as the bloody riots in May
last year, clashes in East Timor and ongoing tension in Aceh, he
said.

According to Kontras, the bill assumes that people are the
main source of threat to the state's security, and disregard
potential threats from the military or enemies outside of the
country.

Observers grouped in Indonesian Parliament Watch (Parwi) on
Wednesday criticized the bill as repressive and called on the
House of Representatives to drop it.

Ori Rachman of Kontras' legal division, who also spoke at the
press conference, said the bill could be abused and manipulated
by the next government to further its own interests.

He said the bill could be also seen as the present
government's excessive suspicion of people in certain regions
such as Aceh, Irian Jaya and Riau, which have all clamored for
separation from the country.

"This is one strange document as it positions the people as a
threat to the state," he said. He insisted that demonstrations by
workers, farmers and other justice seekers could not be
considered a threat.

He said Kontras was committed to campaigning to win public
support to reject the bill.

The bill was actually conceived during the last years of
Soeharto's New Order regime, but was abandoned until Monday, when
the Ministry of Defense and Security submitted the document to
the House for deliberation. The bill is meant as a replacement
for the 1959 Law No. 23 on the State of Emergency. It is now
being studied by the four House factions before deliberations
commence.

The military faction at the House plans to see the bill
ratified by the end of August.

Generals

Meanwhile, the bill drew a mixed reaction from former
generals.

Lt. Gen. (ret) Hasnan Habib, former chief of the military's
sociopolitical affairs, hailed the bill, saying that it was
similar to those in other developed countries.

"Everywhere in the world, governments and armed forces have
full authority to take action in any emergencies, including
rebellions, chaos and disasters, and people in such situations
will lose their individual rights," he told The Jakarta Post here
on Thursday.

He said the United States, which is known for its liberal
democracy, still has such a law to maintain state security.

"For example, when the United States' military launched an
operation to crush a rebellion in an island near Cuba several
years ago, islanders lost their rights and the press was gagged
and martial law was declared."

Former National Police chief Gen. (ret) Awaloeddin Djamin
reminded the House to be extra cautious in its deliberation.

"The bill should be made better than the 1959 law on state of
emergency and the revoked subversion law," he said.

However, he criticized the bill for seeking to grant the
president and the military commander the authority to declare war
and state of emergency without having to consult the legislature.

He said that in handling unrest, separatism, natural disasters
and rebellions, the government should consult the legislative
body. The state of emergency should also be introduced in stages,
from civilian emergency, military emergency to war emergency.

Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal Idris, former chief of the Army's
Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), said the current House,
which was considered by many to be illegitimate, should not
deliberate the bill. It should leave it for the next House and
government to discuss, he said.

"Everyone knows that the current House is a product of an
unfair general election and hence is illegitimate. Therefore, the
bill should be submitted to the new House that will be officiated
next month," he said. (05/rms)