VP asks for Emergency Law to be brought up with House
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)