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Concerns mount over antiterror bill

Jakarta Globe - December 8, 2016

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Jakarta – Activists in Jakarta issued a joint communique on Thursday, Dec. 8, rejecting the government's new antiterrorism bill, which they say will only worsen the country's human rights record.

The government is seeking tougher action against terrorists with the bill, amid fears of rising militancy in the country.

It might still be months before the bill is finally enacted, since lawmakers' deliberation over it has dragged on amid growing human rights concerns.

In Thursday's communique, activists urged the government and lawmakers to "improve and revise stipulations in the bill that can threaten human rights."

"Revisions to the antiterrorism law must maintain a balance between guaranteeing public security and protecting citizens' rights," Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos told the press in Jakarta.

The new bill says an alleged terrorist can be detained without trial for up to one month, compared to seven days under the existing law. The bill also increases the detention period for a terror suspect from 180 days to 450 days.

The bill also prescribes "preventive detention," in which an alleged terrorist can be detained for up to six months in a non-specified location, a rule many have dubbed as the "Guantanamo article." A terrorist may also have their citizenship revoked according to the bill.

Activists reserve their strongest objection for an article in the bill that allows the active involvement of the military in counterterror operations.

They warn against jeopardizing the country's hard-won democracy, saying, if approved, the bill can shift the government's approach in handling terrorism from a criminal justice approach to a "war model."

"Protecting the country against terrorism should not be carried out by creating a political and security regime that will only threaten freedom and human rights," Indonesian Civil Society Circle director Ray Rangkuti said.

The government and lawmakers have defended the bill, citing what they call growing complexities in detecting terror threats in the country.

The government moved to revise the antiterrorism law earlier this year, when the country was forced to go on heightened alert following an Islamic State-linked attack in downtown Jakarta.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/concerns-mount-antiterror-bill/.