Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) will begin deliberations over a draft of the national security law despite strong objections from civil society activists who claim the bill could lead to human rights abuses.
Debate will start this month as the House Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affairs and information has finalized the schedule for hearings, commission chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said on Wednesday.
The first meeting would feature an explanation from Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, he added. "Should the explanation [from the minister] fail to satisfy commission members, the bill might be sent back to the government for revision. The deliberation can be postponed again," Mahfudz of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said.
The House had actually accepted the controversial bill for deliberation in June 2011, but bowing to protests from civil society, it returned the bill to the government. Early this month, however, the government resubmitted the bill to the House without revising the articles deemed controversial.
Al Araf, an activist with the human rights watchdog Imparsial, said the bill could foster intelligence operations. Such operations, he feared, could lead to human rights abuses.
He cited Article 54 in the bill which stipulates that the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police, the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) have special authority to intercept communications, arrest and interrogate suspects, as well as "other necessary measures".
"Granting TNI and BIN the authority to arrest and to interrogate would disconcert our criminal justice system because the military and intelligence personnel are not law enforcers," Al Araf said. "Under those two institutions, such authority could be misused as a legal umbrella to kidnap civil activists like in the past."
He also feared the term "other necessary measures" was loosely defined and open to interpretation, which could lead to measures that violate human rights. The recently passed 2011 National Intelligence Law granted BIN the authority to wiretap communications under court consent.
Al Araf also criticized the absence of accountability mechanisms in the draft bill.
"Without accountability mechanisms, any law on security opens the possibility to abuse of power, such as kidnapping or intimidating people deemed a threat to national security," he said, adding that the bill could allow for the return of a repressive political regime to Indonesia.
"The bill gives a blank check to security actors, allowing them to carry out security measures without concerning why they should take such measures and for what purposes," Al Araf said.
Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, a security expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said without a clear definition of what a threat is, the bill might cause conflicts of authority between existing institutions. This, she argued, would not only render the bill useless when enacted, but it would also hamper democracy.
Earlier, TNI Commander Adm. Agus Suhartono dismissed the suggestion that the bill could disrupt the nation's justice system. "In fact, this bill will provide a better security and justice mechanism. The bill, for instance, contains articles that synchronize the role of the TNI and the police in addressing security issues," he said.
Agus was referring to articles that mandate the establishment of the National Security Council, which would improve coordination among various state institutions in facing various national security threats.
Al Araf welcomed the establishment of the council but said the power of such a council should be limited to coordination measures. "The bill, for example, grants the council the authority to determine when the government should impose martial law. Such an authority must be in the hands of the president," he said.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said his force was still studying the role of the police as stipulated in the bill.