Jakarta – The Press Council says the current State Secrecy Bill is an ironic twist on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's election commitment to uphold democracy and the rights of all citizens.

"We see that in recent times, both the government and the House of Representatives have been doing nothing but deliberating bills, such as the State Secrecy Bill, that have the tendency to charge the press as criminals," the council's deputy chairman, Sabam Leo Batubara, told a discussion Thursday.

Civil society groups have opposed the bill due to vague definitions surrounding the status of confidential material, which they claim is prone to abuse.

One of the bill's most controversial clauses concerns the death penalty for anyone found guilty of leaking confidential information.

However, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said the media and civil society groups should not get so worked up over the content of the bill.

"Ambiguity of clauses is the essence of democracy, because in democracy, there are many interests that need to be served. If there is no ambiguity, then it means that we are in an authoritarian era," he said. (hdt)