TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Not long after Indonesian President Joko Widodo gave an ultimatum deadline for the anti-terrorism law`s revisions last Monday, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) Wiranto contacted several institutions and cabinet ministers, among others Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly. Because of Wiranto's summons, Minister Yasonna had to leave a meeting in his office. “Pak Minister, come quickly to Menkopolhukam,” said Karjono, justice ministry's director of regulation harmonization director, last Thursday.
President Jokowi's request to expedite revisions on the anti-terrorism law currently in deliberation at the House of Representatives (DPR) was made two hours after a bomb attack at the Surabaya Police Department. Four people died and another six were injured in the attack. Jokowi gave an ultimatum: if revisions are not completed by June, he will issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perpu). The day before, the President went to three churches in Surabaya, East Java, where bombings had killed 13 and injured dozens. The night after that incident, another bomb exploded at the Wonocolo Apartment in Sidoarjo, killing three.
Because of the string of attacks and the President's instruction, Wiranto immediately met with cabinet ministers and leaders of relevant government institutions to discuss how they could speed up revisions. “This requires the cooperation and coordination of all of the Republic's ministries and institutions,” said Wiranto last week.
According to Arsul Sani, member of the anti-terrorism bill working committee, the only remaining issue to discuss is the definition of terrorism. “The issue of definition also caused a deadlock in April,” said Arsul, who is also secretary-general of the United Development Party (PPP).
From Minister Wiranto's office, the meeting continued at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, where more technical matters were discussed. This meeting was attended by around 50 representatives from the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), and other institutions, and was led by the chief of the National Law Development Agency Enny Nurbaningsih. Their agenda was to finalize changes to Law No. 15/2003 on Terrorism, which has been under deliberation for two years.
During a final meeting with a special DPR committee on April 18, three factions, namely Gerindra, the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS), made the same offer as the TNI. They asked for the inclusion of the words “political and ideological objectives.”
Enny says the administration is emphatically against adding these words in because they do not want to make things difficult for the police both in the field and in the courtroom. There is concern that these words may restrict the police's actions. “The elements of what constitutes a crime are in place, but when it comes to enforcement, law enforcement officials will have difficulty proving charges,” she said.
Some wish to include these words, said Enny, because they are concerned that the police might act arbitrarily in enforcing the law. They worry, for example, that a bombing or the killing of a police officer may automatically be considered an act of terror, although the criteria are already mentioned in articles 6 and 7. “Actually, even no definition would be fine.”
The three opposing factions had already agreed with Minister Wiranto's explanation during a meeting in mid-September last year. In the meeting, Wiranto said terrorism was a new threat for all nations, making it impossible to overcome alone.
Linda Trianita | Rusman Paraqbueq | Wayan Agus Purnomo
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