VP asks for Emergency Law to be brought up with House

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri has instructed officials to present the draft of the revised Emergency Law before the House of Representatives so that any revisions can be reviewed and the law quickly passed.

Speaking here on Thursday after a Cabinet meeting of officials involved in the revision of the controversial law on state of emergency, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the vice president wanted to prevent further delay in the endorsement of the law.

"This was spoken about with House leaders earlier so that endorsement of the law does not get postponed until January next year," Yusril was quoted by Antara as saying.

According to Yusril, the government is still unsure about the exact opinions of the House concerning the matter.

"We know the individual opinions of House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and other legislators, but they are individual opinions, not that of the House," Yusril said.

"This is why it is difficult for us to make corrections on the revision."

A team from the justice and human rights ministry, the defense ministry, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police has been formed to review the law.

Yusril, however, declined to reveal in detail which articles would be revised.

The government decided to postpone enactment of the law, which was approved by the House in September last year, following strong public protest.

Separately, political researcher Lambang Trijono from the Yogyakarta-based Center for Security and Peace Studies said on Thursday that the law should be thoroughly reexamined before being enacted.

"The Emergency Law should provide protection to the people as its main concern and not only as a government tool to achieve absolute power," he told journalists here after a seminar on the commission of truth and reconciliation.

"Just like the previous law, the new Emergency Law can be used as a legitimation for militaristic handling of various situations in the country," Lambang said, referring to Law No. 23/1959 on subversion. (bby/ylt)