Security bill could meet defiant public
Security bill could meet defiant public
YOGYAKARTA, Central Java (JP): More reactions over the
drafting of the state security bill were expressed on Friday by
scholars here.
Lambang Triono, a sociologist at the Central Study for Peace
and Security (PSKP) said the bill would provoke public
resistance.
"They are fighting for freedom from fear, so they won't comply
with it," he said.
He explained that the military lost its credibility as a peace
mediator after it ended operations last year in Aceh. A
militaristic approach would therefore not solve any problems, he
said, citing violence among residents in Maluku and West
Kalimantan.
In Jakarta, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces
Commander Gen. Wiranto said on Friday that the government agreed
to the legislators' stance that changes in the draft bill would
include the need to consult President-appointed bodies on
security prior to an announcement of a state of emergency.
Legislators have said such an announcement needs prior consulting
with the law-making body.
Rights activists in Jakarta have urged civil disobedience amid
signs that the bill will go through.
M. Mahfud, a lecturer on state administration, said in
Yogyakarta that ratification of the bill would be "reckless" and
would foster more suspicion toward the intentions of the
military.
He said the draft bill proves that the military is not ready
to terminate its nondefense role. He reiterated earlier demands
that legislators stop deliberation and leave it for the new
members.
In Irian Jaya, students rejected the government-sponsored bill
on state security on Thursday, saying it would grant excessive
power to the military and the government in the event of
perceived threats to the state.
Daniel Randongkir, a coordinator of Irianese Students for
Human Rights said that once the bill was endorsed, rights abuses
would increase in Irian Jaya and across the country.
Even without such a bill, "many Irianese have been massacred
like animals by security personnel during 36 years of
integration" with Indonesia, Daniel said.
"So if the bill is endorsed, the military will have a
justification to intimidate, torture, arrest and even kill
anybody, resulting in mounting rights abuses," Daniel said.
Vocal Irianese have always been charged with being separatists
or members of disturbance groups which justified such actions, he
said.
Though undeclared, "a state of emergency has always existed in
Irian Jaya," he said, citing similar conditions in East Timor and
Aceh. (44/34/05/06/edt)