Police to get new antiterrorist powers

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Anyone planning or persuading other people to commit acts of terrorism will in future be classified as a terrorist and thus could be arrested, a government official said on Thursday.

Abdul Gani Abdullah, the chairman of the government team revising the antiterrorism law, said the inclusion of the new provision in the law would allow the police to arrest anyone planning a terrorist attack even before the act was carried out.

"The planners of terrorist acts will be able to be arrested based on intelligence reports," Abdul Gani told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on the Constitutional Court at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights on Thursday.

He was quick, however, to add that before arresting someone believed to be hatching a terrorist plot, the police would first have to obtain an arrest warrant from the local district court in order to avoid human rights abuses.

The new preemptive element, Abdul Gani said, was included in the revisions of the antiterrorism law currently being drafted by the government.

Police investigators have complained that the existing antiterrorism law does not allow them to take preemptive action against terrorists.

Article 26 of the antiterrorism law states that law enforcers many only arrest terror suspects based upon prima facie evidence, and that suspects may only be held for three days unless an extension to this period is granted by the district court.

These requirements had hampered the government's efforts to combat terrorism, and thus the law needed to be revised so as to give more power to the security forces to act swiftly against terrorism.

The deadly Bali bombing in October 2002, which killed more than 200 people and injured over 300 others, and the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta last month, had served as a wake-up call for the government to enhance its preemptive capabilities against terrorism.

According to Abdul Gani, the team revising the antiterrrorism law was set to finalize the revisions by the end of September, and was now waiting to hear the views of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Previously, the TNI had asked for a greater role in combating terrorism. However, it has yet to spell out exactly what role it envisages for itself.

"We are waiting for proposals from the TNI. Should no proposals from the TNI be forthcoming, we will complete the review by the end of September," said Abdul Gani.

Meanwhile, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, gave assurances that the revised law would not give the power to the TNI and its intelligence services to arrest suspected terrorists.

The statement was made in response to public concerns that if the TNI were given the power to arrest suspected terrorists, the abuses of the past could well be repeated.

"Only the police will be able to arrest suspected terrorists," Yusril stressed.