TNI concedes insufficient promotion of security bill

TNI concedes insufficient promotion of security bill

SURABAYA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) and Ministry of
Defense and Security have said they will leave a decision whether
to approve the controversial state security bill to the House of
Representatives.

Speaking after addressing a seminar on the new nationalism
here on Wednesday, spokesman for the ministry/TNI Maj. Gen.
Sudrajat said the government and TNI had not pressed the House to
approve the bill as quickly as possible.

"Perhaps people need more time to understand the appropriate
nature of the bill. I acknowledge that we have not adequately
promoted the bill to the whole public," Sudrajat said.

"Therefore, it's all up to the wisdom of the House. The bill
itself has seen many changes, compared to the original draft."

The House is expected on Thursday to approve the bill, which
provides TNI with wide-ranging powers, including the right to
temporarily take over the duties of a civilian government in a
state of emergency.

Sudrajat said he welcomed the submissions made over the bill,
but deplored the increasing number of rallies and protests
against the bill, saying such actions had been blown out of
proportion.

"Responses to the bill should be conducted in an intellectual
manner, not through street rallies," he said.

He said that from his own observations many protesters were
not familiar with the bill's contents.

Separately in Yogyakarta, political observer Cornelius Lay of
Gadjah Mada University said the public had the right to disobey
the bill, even if it was approved by the House.

"People can exercise civil disobedience in response to the law
because opposition to the bill by various elements in the society
has been left unheeded by the government and even the House,"
Cornelius said.

He emphasized, however, that resistance to the bill should not
lead to violent confrontations.

He said people had exercised their right to disobey a law when
the House approved the Traffic Law in 1991. Following nationwide
protests, the government delayed enforcement of the law for one
year.

Press threat

In Jakarta, chairman of the Legal Aid Institute Foundation
Bambang Widjojanto also warned of massive public disobedience to
the state security law, not only from students, but also from
business executives.

Speaking at a seminar, Bambang also said the press faced
serious threats if the bill was passed by the House.

He said that although there were no articles in the bill which
specifically targeted the press, the media's independence could
be severely curtailed because of the authority given to the
military to take over all mail and telecommunications facilities.

"The bill's article will allow security authorities to control
the press," Bambang said.

At another seminar held by the Institute for Policy Research
and Advocacy, political expert Syamsuddin Haris suggested that
the press boycott the House's approval of the bill.

"There's nothing we can do now but to pray that the House
delays approving the bill, or returns it to the government," he
said.

He said the bill would justify the misuse of sociopolitical
roles long-held by the military.

But media observer Atmakusumah Astraatmadja disputed the press
boycott idea, saying such a move would limit dissemination of
vital public information.

The director of the Soetomo Press Institute said it would be
better for the public to consider the bill positively, rather
than to react too strongly.

"We have to know whether we really need the bill or whether it
is common in other countries to enact such a state security law,"
Atmakusumah said.

He said the bill did not stipulate any press ban, although he
acknowledged that it could pose obstacles to the media.

Another speaker at the seminar, Johnson Panjaitan from the
Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, acknowledged
that while many countries had adopted a state security law, due
to TNI's role in sociopolitical affairs, the case for Indonesia
was a different story.

"Basically, it's normal for a country to adopt the law, for
example (as in) Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. People in
these countries can accept the law only because their military
forces are not involved in political practices," he said.
(05/44/emf/nur)