Jakarta – Indonesian lawmakers have objected to a controversial government anti-terror plan to revive a far-reaching intelligence network used to quell dissent during the dictatorial government of ex-President Suharto, a local newspaper said Monday.
The Indonesian military last week threw its backing behind the government's plan to revive the intelligence network across the country to allegedly improve the nation's ability to combat terrorism.
"I'm suspicious of the initiator of such a plan because he is trying to revive the past repressive and anti-democratic government by using the issue of terrorism," Djoko Susilo, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PAN), was quoted as saying by the local daily Bisnis Indonesia.
Home Affairs Minister and retired general Muhammad Ma'ruf proposed recently a plan to revive the network used by Suharto before massive pro-democracy protests, combined with an economic downturn, forced him to step down in May 1998 after 32 years in office.
Ma'ruf said the regional intelligence coordinating bodies, known by its Indonesian acronym Bakorinda, would synchronize the anti-terror efforts of the military, police and judiciary in all regions across the country.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is also a former army general, said last week the plan to revive Bakorinda was part of the government's effort to maintain security, as well as to prevent terrorist acts in the country.
But lawmaker Muhaimin Iskandar expressed opposition, arguing that the move was not urgent and would only end in bringing back an authoritarian regime to the country.
"The acts of terrorism only happen in certain regions. They don't take place throughout the country, so the plan to revive Bakorinda and link it to the issue of terrorism is not relevant," said Iskandar, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PKB).
Instead, he urged the government to improve the professionalism and capability of its intelligence, rather than revive the Bakorinda offices.
Suripto, another lawmaker from the Justice and Welfare Party (PKS), called on the country's intelligence agencies to first improve their professionalism.
The plan to revive the network, first raised after the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people and thrust Indonesia onto the front lines in the fight against terrorism, is strongly opposed by several legislators and human rights groups.
Authorities have blamed the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) regional militant network for the October 2002 Bali blasts and several other attacks in Indonesia, including the 2003 bombing of Jakarta's J.W. Marriott Hotel and last year's explosion outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta.