The government is using the Marriot bombing to introduce tough laws

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent

JAKARTA, August 14 (IslamOnline.net) - Opponents to the proposed draconian law to be introduced in Indonesia in an attempt to prevent further 'terror' attacks in the country said the Megawati Sukarnoputri government, very unpopular these days, will use such laws for its own political gains and survival, IslamOnline.net was told.

Following last week's Marriott bombing, the Megawati government is mulling the adoption of a draconian law, similar to the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Malaysia and Singapore, to prevent terrorist strikes. But Rights activists as well as ordinary Indonesians and House of Representatives' leaders said it was not acceptable.

The proposal flouted by Minister of Defense Matori Abdul D’jalil, has sparked protests in many quarters in Indonesia, including among student movements and Islamic elements.

“A huge majority of people believe the Megawati government is just trying to maintain itself in power by introducing tougher laws and measures supposedly to prevent terrorist acts in the country,” an Indonesian college student - who will be organizing rallies against the ISA in case its implementation – told IOL.

“Indonesia used to have such laws, it was called subversion law under which the Suharto regime arrested, jailed and murdered many of its opponents,” said Hendriarto, who leads a student movement in local universities.

He added the students in particular and the business community as well the Muslims in general were worried of the fact that the government, which is feeling that power is slipping away from its holds, would abuse the people’s rights under such laws.

“We have had precedence; the people fought for their freedom against the Suharto regime, Megawati cannot impose such things on us. We will make sure the Parliament does not vote such laws,” said Hendriarto.

“It is important to fight against such draconian laws, we have already given them too much space and they are failing in their mission to bring peace to Indonesia,” said Djormono another student, who wore a stripe on his forehead reading “Down with Megawati”.

He said he is preparing to go to the streets and shout against the leaders of the country if they persisted in remaining in power despite what he calls their obvious failure to maintain order and limit terror activities in Indonesia.

The two students told IOL that they are aware there will be huge demonstrations against the government if draconian laws are adopted, adding that the student movement was against such laws in principle.

In Singapore and Malaysia, police authorities have extremely strong powers to detain anyone suspected of planning a terror attack for two years without trial.

Many Malaysians and Singaporeans said they felt the governing authorities abused of the ISA and arrested many of its opponents in order to win political mileage and clamp down on the official opposition in both countries.

Indonesia scrapped the Subversion law in 1999 after the fall of the Suharto regime. The Megawati regime has since it’s overthrowing of Abdurrahman Wahid as head of the Republic of Indonesia, been tempted in many occasions to impose tougher laws, even to revive the controversial and much hated subversion law and Information control regulations.

House of Representatives' Speaker Akbar Tandjung, leader of the Golkar Party which introduced the Subversion law under Suharto is against such a law.

He said to the local press in Jakarta that a law similar to the ISA would bring the country back to the dark ages of authoritarianism and suggested that the current laws were sufficient for the regime of Megawati to deal with terrorism.

Several other personalities today supports the Golkar Leader who is bidding to be next president in Indonesia, saying that Indonesia must maintain it’s newly found Democratic principles.

It is also suggested in parliamentary circles that the Megawati regime does not have enough votes to push for an ISA-like law and that attempts to do so would simply diminish her regime’s authority.

"The idea of adopting an ISA would first need a comprehensive assessment because it will spark protests," Tandjung said according Antara on Tuesday, 12^th August.

The chief of the Human rights body Komnas Ham in Indonesia Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara is also strongly opposed to the implementation of the ISA in Indonesia.

“We should not impose the ISA hurriedly, the entire issue must be studied first and we should know what it means too,” warned the Komnas Ham chief early on Sunday last.

He too suggested that the existing laws were sufficient, adding that the authorities should polish its intelligentsia in order to prevent terror attacks.