Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The seemingly forgotten issue of enacting an anti-terror law resurfaced in Indonesia after several prominent figures, including the military chief and the head of the country's largest Islamic body, stressed the need for a legal basis in the fight against terrorism.
The Anti-terrorism Bill was due to be submitted to Parliament three months ago but the government decided to postpone it after mounting opposition.
Although under considerable international pressure to act against terrorism, President Megawati Sukarnoputri has been reluctant to rush the Bill for fear that her opponents will paint it as an example of her administration's kow-towing to the United States.
It is a politically risky move for the government which is keenly aware of the anti-US sentiment in the country and the impact it could have on the general elections looming up in 2004.
As a Jakarta-based analyst said: "Megawati does not want to appear too pro-US. She has to tiptoe if she wants to avoid a confrontation with the Muslim factions which is why she has done and said very little on the terrorism front." Within the government, there has been an open clash on anti-terrorism policy.
Vice-President Hamzah Haz, who heads the country's largest Islamic party, has been critical of the US-led war on terrorism. He has repeatedly vowed to protect cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, allegedly the spiritual head of the Jemaah Islamiyah network.
The ruling party members in Parliament themselves maintain a safe distance from supporting the Bill, realising that aggression against militant groups is being perceived with unprecedented suspicion.
Support for the Bill did come from Islamic group Nahdlatul Ulama last week, which argued that its absence had been the biggest stumbling block to cracking down on terror networks. And the military, police and the intelligence community have also demanded that the law be enacted quickly to make it easier to take action against suspected networks.
But most people shudder at the thought of a law that will enable the government to arrest suspects without due process of law and without legal representation.
Human-rights activists fear the return of a law that could crush anti-government movements, like during former president Suharto's regime. Muslim hardliners say they are concerned that they will be targeted even though they might not have links to terrorists.
In addition, most Islamic groups remain suspicious of the US-led war against terrorism. Yesterday, Mr Dien Syamsuddin, a spokesman for Indonesia's highest Islamic body, the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, joined the chorus of voices for Jakarta to protest to Washington over America's 'propaganda' against the nation.
While Ms Megawati seeks to build a political consensus on the Bill, the government is considering two other options – reviving a 1957 law on State Emergency or enforcing the 1999 law on state security.
The 1957 law, which had enabled decades of state abuse, was lifted by then president B. J. Habibie in 1999. The 1999 state security law was never enforced after opposition from human-rights activists.
Both the laws deal less with terrorism than with domestic disturbances and separatism, giving the President the power to call a state of emergency without parliamentary approval.
Ms Megawati's habitual silence and reluctance to make a move has made it hard for her to build a political consensus to support the anti-terror law. Said political analyst Bantarto Bandoro: "She has been playing it safe too long. Now is the time to prove she is not afraid of being right."