RI issues regulations to fight terrorism

RI issues regulations to fight terrorism

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government issued two government regulations in lieu
of law late on Friday that it says the country needs to crack
down on terrorism following the Bali carnage.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed the unprecedented
regulations just before midnight, implying heated debate within
her Cabinet in the process. The announcement was rescheduled at
least twice, with officials saying certain changes had to be made
to the original drafts.

The first regulation, more or less a carbon copy of the draft
law on antiterrorism to be submitted to the House of
Representatives next month, served as the general guideline for
the combating of terrorists.

The second regulation was specially drawn up to deal with the
Bali bomb attacks on Oct. 12, which left nearly 200 dead. It
stipulates the law enforcers' powers to investigate and prosecute
the perpetrators of the attack.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who
along with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced the issuance of the
regulations at the State Palace just after midnight, said the
second regulation was drawn up to allow for the principle of
retroactivity to be applied in the case of Bali bombing.

Opposition to the regulations is precisely based on this
principle of retroactivity, which goes against both general legal
principles and the amended 1945 Constitution. Critics also fear
human rights violations resulting from the enforcement of the new
regulations.

But the government said that extraordinary crimes demanded an
extraordinary response.

The regulation on terrorism provides for the death penalty and
a Rp 1 trillion maximum fine for those convicted of committing or
threatening to commit acts of terrorism resulting in mass
destruction and killing.

It allows the authorities to detain people for seven days in
the absence of strong legal evidence that the person may have
committed terrorist acts.

Unlike the original draft that gave the government the right
to form antiterror teams drawn from various agencies, the final
draft says the President, if necessary, will assign the
coordinating minister for political and security affairs to cope
with specific cases of terrorism.

The results of intelligence operations could be used as prima
facie evidence after being approved by a court of law with the
approval process taking no longer than three days.

For investigation purposes, a suspect may be detained for six
months.

Unlike a law, a government regulation in lieu of law does not
require House approval to take effect. But if the House rejects
it within 30 days, the decree must be withdrawn.

In the morning, Megawati led a Cabinet meeting to finalize the
drafts of the regulations. Attending the meeting were Vice
President Hamzah Haz, Coordinating Minister for Political and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Minister of Foreign
Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno,
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra,
Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, Attorney
General M.A. Rachman, and National Intelligence Agency chief
Hendropriyono.

Megawati received a major boost regarding her new
antiterrorist campaign after United States President George W.
Bush called her on Thursday night to express his support.

A foreign diplomat told The Jakarta Post that Bush also
expressed his condolences for the Bali bombing.

During the conversation, Bush informed Megawati that Jamaah
Islamiyah would be included on the UN terrorist list next week.

The prolonged discussion of the regulations occurred because
Yusril only submitted the draft of the second regulation late on
Thursday to the President.

Before the Friday meeting, which lasted three hours, none of
the Cabinet members, including the Vice President, were involved
in the drafting process.

Yusril had been preparing the drafts since Monday.

Many have speculated that the antiterrorism regulations will
be used to justify a crackdown on hard-line Muslim organizations
that foreign countries castigate as having links to terrorist
networks, including Jamaah Islamiyah.

It was not immediately clear why Yusril, from the Muslim-based
Crescent Star Party (PBB), accepted the articles that could be
used against Muslim groups.

Earlier, TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto guaranteed that
the antiterrorism regulations would not vest excessive powers in
the military.

"We should not perceive the regulations in a negative way. The
current situation in the country gives more authority to the
House of Representatives than the government," he said.

"The regulations only empower the security authorities to take
operational measures that are based on the Criminal Code. The TNI
is only a small part of all the enforcers involved," he said.