Women's group says no to security bill

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi: Scores of women activists staged a rally in front of the Mandala Monument here on Sunday, demanding the controversial state security bill be dropped.

The activists, grouped in Forum for Women's Issues (FPMP), claimed that the bill threatened people's basic freedoms.

They further charged that the bill was utterly in contrast to the current climate of political reform.

"This bill will only benefit the military and it will justify the military using a violent approach, particularly toward women," group spokesperson Zohra Andi Baso told The Jakarta Post.

The House of Representative is currently deliberating the controversial bill.

No clashes were reported during the rally, in which members of the Muslim Students Group, lecturers from Hasanuddin University, journalists and students from various universities in the city also participated. (27/emf)