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.