A. Junaidi, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) have taken advantage of the global war on terrorism to regain the power they had exercised previously to suppress the political rights of the people, a human rights activist said on Monday.

"The war on terrorism has given them legitimacy," said Munir, executive director of the Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), during the book launch of Terrorism, Definition, Action and Regulation.

The 160-page book was published by Imparsial and the Coalition for the Safety of the Civilian Community, which groups dozens of non-governmental organizations opposing the 2003 Antiterrorism Law.

Munir said the military had persisted in maintaining its territorial function using the threat of terrorism as a pretext.

He deemed the recent proposal by BIN to expand its presence to mayoralties and regencies was an effort to regain power.

"Instead of monitoring terrorist activities, they would use its power to curb political activities," said Munir, who is a co-founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is due to sign a decree authorizing BIN to open offices in all provinces, regencies and municipalities across the country, but the time frame for its endorsement has not yet been specified.

BIN chief Lt. Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono has confirmed the plan, but said it was intended merely to revitalize the agency.

Following the Bali bombing on Oct. 12, 2002, which claimed 202 lives, national intelligence has been under constant fire for its failure to detect terrorist activities, especially as more blasts have rocked the country since Bali.

The government is also proposing an amendment to the Antiterrorism Law that will authorize BIN to arrest suspected terrorists without a warrant.

International law expert Andi Widjajanto of the University of Indonesia warned that BIN would be prone to abuse such power.

"The task of an intelligence agency is to collect information; the police must investigate and arrest any suspected terrorists," said Andi at the book launch.

During Soeharto's New Order regime, the military and intelligence oppressed the people and denied their political rights through a policy of terror, including abducting activists and incarcerating outspoken literary figures.

The State Intelligence Coordinating Board (Bakin) of the time was synonymous with terror and oppression, and was replaced by BIN in 2000, two years after the fall of Soeharto.

Kontras was founded in part to investigate and trace the whereabouts of those who "disappeared" under the New Order, many of whose fates remain unknown, and are presumed dead.